Magic and Alice
by Fierce Kitten
Summary: Mikan Sakura, Natsume Hyuuga, Ruka Nogi, and Hotaru Imai are the four students chozen to enter a transfer program. There is a school in England that holds all wizanding children. Hogwarts. NXM, RXH
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One: I'M WITH WHO, WHERE?!

The Story up to this point:

Mikan Sakura, Natsume Hyuuga, Ruka Nogi, and Hotaru Imai are the four students chozen to enter a transfer program. There is a school in England that holds all wizanding children, and they are going to send four of their students (Seamus Finagin, Cho Chang, Gregory Goyal, and Pansy Parkinson) to Gakuen Alice, while Gakuen sends their four to Hogwarts. OUr heros are now standing the the great all, infront of dozens of kids, waiting for instruction.

Begin story:

"Hello, students!" Professor Dumbledor exclaimed, "In case you have not noticed, four of our fellow students are missing. That is because they are taking part in an exchange program!"

A dull, board "cheering" came from the students. Dumbledor did not seem to notice.

"And WE get four of their students!"

The cheering became more energetic.

"Now..." Proffessor Dubledor becamse sirious, "...you all may have heard that we have a killer on the loose. To protect the school from Sirius Black, Hogwarts will also become home to... the dementors of Azkaban."

A fearful wisper erupted from the school.

"And we also have a new teacher! Everyone, please let me introduce Professor R.J.Lupin!"

Some of the clapping was happy, other were dull and boared.

"I-I don't l-like the sound og that. . . . ." Mikan whispered, "A k-k-k-killer on the loose?"

"Just shut up, Polka-dot," Natsume said, irratibly.

"NATSUME!" Mikan shouted, causing people to notice them. Everyone began to stare.

"Baka." Hotaru said bluntly.

"Yes," Professor Dumbledor said, "THese are our new students, other then the young ones we just sorted. THese kids with be sorted into houses as well. Proffessor?"

Proffessor McGonagal stood back up with the sorting hat.

"First is... Imai Hotaru."

Hotaru slowly walked up to McGonagal. Not a nervouse slow, but a board, un-caring slow. McGonagal put the hat on her head. Mikan could tell what was going on. After a moment, the had SPOKE.

"RAVENCLAW!"

Professor McGonagal pointed to a table, and Hotaru walked over to it. The kids at the table cheered. Hotaru sat down, obviously board.

". . . . Sorry, excuse me!" McGonagal said, "THere was a error. Hyuuga Natsume was suposed to go before Imai, please come up,  
Hyuuga."

Natsume walked up with his hands in his pockets. He looked just as boared as Hotaru. McGonagal placed the hat in Natsume's head. It stayed they for a long time too. It seemed like it would never speek when. . . . .

"GRIFFINDOOR!"

One on the tables clapped wildly. McGonagal pointed to that table and Natsume went over and sat down next to a red-haired boy and propped his feet up on the table in his very Natsume-like manner.

"Next it... Nogi Ruka."

Ruka tentativly walked up to McGonagal. He shook when she put the hat on his head. Ruka was in a strange place, with strange people, and his cool-bad-boy-act had broken.

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

One table clapped, and on laughed. And, to most people in the halls surprize (only minusing the Gakuen Alice group), a few of the people at that table caught fire.

"ACK!"

Everyone who had caught fire, dumped water on themselves. THe fire went out, but Mikan knew that was because Natsume was feeling genrous. Ruka's face grew bright red, and he shuffled over to the hufflepuff table.

"And lastly, we have Sakura Mikan."

Mikan walked up to McGonagal. McGonagal placed the hat on her head. . . . . . . .

"Hum... interesting. . . . . pure of heart, I see. . . . . sometimes a cowared, but when it matters, very brave. . . . I see . . . . then. . . . you must be. . . . GRIFFENDOOR!"

THe Griffendoor table erupted with aplause. Mikan clapped her hands exitedly. She began to run over to that table when she relized something and stopped.

"I'm... with Natsume, again..."

"Get over here, Polka-dot," Natsume said, raising an eyebrow at her.

second one of silence.

second two of silence.

second three of silence. . . . . . .

"NO!! I'M IN THE SAME GROUP AS THAT PERVERTED, GOOD-FOR-NOTHING, ASS-HOLE, NATSUME!!"

"JUST SHUT UP, POLKA-DOT! YOU CAUSE HEAD ACHES!"

And this was the first look Hogworts ever got of our beloved Kuro Neko's personality.

(Please continiue to Chapter Two)

Author Note:

Don't you like it? Please give me reviews. I'll have chapter two up as soon as I can. BTW, in case you don't know what NXM and RXH means, this is a NatsumexMikan, and a RukaxHotaru fan fic. I would apriciate it if you could reveiw. I love hearing what people with. You may flame me, but I really would perfer if you did not. Arigato gazaimasu!

Ai - Fierce Kitten 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: Potions Class

"Mr. Hyuuga!" Snape snapped.

A book fell off Natsume's head and Natume raised an eyebrow. "Hnn?" (His famouse line)

"Take your feet off the table, Hyuuga. And keep your Potions book off your face. And STOP SLEEPING IN MY CLASS!!"

"Baka..." Natsume muttered.

"What did you say?! What does that mean?! Answer me!"

"Go away. . . . . ."

"I will NOT! And you havn't even started making the potion..."

"I don't feel like it, baka-yero."

"You don't FEEL like it? How would you FEEL like having a detention?!"

"Do, and I'll burn you to a crisp."

"Ten points from Griffindoor! I'd like to see someone with no magical powers try! Don't you dare threten me!"

Natsume held his hand out and moved it in a 'come here' sign. Snape leaned forward only a bit.

"I may not be a wizerd, but don't assume I don't have power."

"ARG! WHY WON'T IT LIGHT?!" yelled a beautiful voice. THat beautiful voice belonged to a beautiful girl, who had a beautiful tempor. This was all in Natsume's opinion, but it was true to him. He looked around and stared at the brunnett girl trying to light a match. She was the only one. All the other students simply congered up a fire using magic. Natsume Hyuuga layed his eyes on Mikan Sakura.

"Damn these matches! They suck!" she tossed the match she was trying to light on the table and got anouther out of the box, and tried to light that one, but just as little results.

"Watch." was all Natsume said to the teacher he was still having an argument with. However, he barely relized he had said anything because his mind was on Mikan. Suddenly, before Mikan even lit the match (which we all knew wasn't going to happen) the fire under her cauldren went from non-existant to blazing. Mikan gasped and so did Proffessor Snape.

"Aha!" Mikan smiled. Natsume smiled too, without relizing it. Mikan looked up and caught Natsume smiling at her. Natsume flushed, but recovered magnificently, and turned away from her like noting had happened. But Mikan knew better, even without finding Nastume looking at her.

"Arigato! Natsume-kun!"

Natsume pretended like he didn't care. He pretended like her thanks was worth nothing to him. He even closed his eyes to emfasize the fact. But really, that one 'thank you, Natsume' meant the world to him. He enjoyed hearing Mikan say his name in her pretty voice.

But there was no way in hell he'd admit it.

"How did you...?" Snape began, "You don't have... Are you a...?"

"No." But Natsume didn't elaborate. He stood up and picked up his bag.

"Natsume-san?" said a girl Nastume learned the name of (Hermione Granger) said, "Where are you going?"

"THis class is lame." was all Natsume said.

"Hermione, what does "-san" mean?" asked a red-haired boy.

"It means (starts explanation of honerifics)."

Natsume ditched the class. He could hear Mikan yelling at him even when he was four hallways away. He was amased that she could have such a. . . . loud voice. Loud and beautiful. . . . Natsume blushed. He shook it off. That wouldn't do. Eventualy, Mikan gave up on him, and stopped yelling. Natsume was gald too. If she had continued, he might actually have broken and gone back. (Which was against him bad-ass code of honor.) He looked into the Transfiguration classroom. He tried to get Ruka's attention,  
but he couldn't. THey had been turing objects into animals, and Ruka was in heaven. He was playing with a rabit which obviously the result of transorming a tea cup (one of it's arms was still a handle, and it had flower print fur). Hotaru Imai picked up the rabit and stuck a carrot in its mouth quite ruffly. Ruka smiled up at the rabit. . . . . . . . or was it the rabit? Natsume watched the scean from the doorway. Ruka was smiling up at the rabit (and Imai) fondly, but it was different from when he was just staring at the rabit. It was. . . . . a familiar look. Where had Natsume seen that look before?

He shook it off, and decided Ruka was too busy (okay, having too much fun) to ditch class, so Natsume left for the common room. He decided he wouldn't be going to any of the other classes, either.

"Password?" asked the portait.

"Open up before I burn your frame."

"WELL! You don't have to be thretening!" the Fat Lady opened up for Natsume (mainly because she recognized him) and he climbed in. He proped his feet up on the coffee (?) table and leaned back in the easy chair. He knew when Mikan came back, she would not be happy. He also knew that her mad face was cute. So the kuro neko didn't worry about it too much.What he feared was if she went running to Imai to make him become a proper school go-er. Imai would eventually break from her adorable pouting face, and actually do something about him. THen she would make Mikan pay up in gallions (because thats what wizerds use) a random amount of cash she would think of on the spot. Then, after a few days, Natsume would laps back into his old habbits on purpouse because they aren't really habbits but self-forced actions, and the circle of life would continue.

Natsume's examination of the future events made him very sleepy. He soon fell asleep right there in the big fluffy chair. He didn't know then, that this was the best plance for him to sleep in. . . . . .

(Please continue to chapter three)

Author note:

Thank you for reading. I havn't checked for reviews yet, but I hope I've already got some! (probobly not, though) I will update as soon as I can. Although, I'm sick, so it way take a wile. Just favotire it and wait, please! 


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

"And he's SO stuborn! Not to mention he's such a hentai! I wish I'd never see that boy again!" Mikan was ranting to her new friend, Hermione.

"Ronald is the same way! He's just so insistant that he's always right, no matter what! It's so frustrating!"

"I can HERE you, ya know!" Ron shouted back. He and Harry were way a head of them, because they didn't feel the need to look at eachother when they talked.

"And Natsume can be so stuck up! He's such a brat!"

"Ronaled won't take anything siriously!"

"Weedle Weed." Harry grunted to the Fat Lady.

"I'M NOT THAT BAD!"

"He won't even APOLLOGIZE for what he said about my cat."

"URG! Don't say 'cat'! It reminds me of Natsume! Kuro Neko no Baka! He's so cold-hearted! He's stupid! He's a jerk! He's a hentai! He's grose! He's crule. He's. . . . . " Mikan stopped. She had turned looked into one of the comfortable chairs to make sure nobody was sitting there, and found that someone WAS sitting in it.

Natsume Hyuuga was sleeping in the chair just like a little baby. A very HANDSOME baby. His arms were loosly crossed, and his head was slightly to the side. His Alice Nulification earing glittered in the fire light, and he himself seemed to glow with randiance. He seemed so peacful and. . . . beautiful.

Mikan brushed his bangs out of his face. His hair felt soft and his skin felt flawless. Mikan thought about his beautiful red eyes and in that one small moment, Mikan couldn't think of one flaw Natsume had. . . . . .

"Kya!" Mikan squeeked. When she had brushed Natsume's bangs out of his eyes, he had felt her contact, and grabbed her wrist.

"I'm sorry, Natsume! I-!" but then she relized something. Natsume was still asleep. He grabed her as a reflex. WAS there anything wrong with the Kuro Neko? He seemed almost too perfect.

Hermione giggled from behind Mikan, and she relized that she was blushing. She looked around, and saw Hermione smiling at her,  
Ron looking very confused, and Harry having a strange mix of confution and understanding on his face. Mikan turned back to Natsume.

"Alright Natsume," she whispered, "Give me my hand back."

She tried to pull away, but Natsume's grip was too strong. Mikan was amased that, even when he's alseep, he could have such a strong grasp. Natsume mumbled something.

"What?" Mikan asked, sort of noticing that Ron went up to bed.

"Mi. . . . stay. . . . . ."

"Uh!" Mikan whispered, "Ron! I think he wants you to stay here!"

"Corse not." Ron mumbled, opening the door to his bedroom.

"Mi. . . . . kan. . . . . "

This caught Mikan off gaurd. Did Natsume just say her NAME? Her REAL NAME? But. . . . wait. . . . .

"Don'. . . . go. . . . . . Mika. . . . . . . . . stay." Natsume turned over in his sleep, making him let go of Mikan's hand.

Mikan's mind had gone hazy. Her face had gone the shade of a cherry. She stepped away from the sleeping Natsume. She forced herself to look away from his handsome face, and look at Hermione and Harry. She wanted help, and she wanted it in a bad way.

Hermione was grinning, and she had stuffed her fist into her mouth. She shook her head, holding back exited giggles. Mikan turned her attention to Harry. Harry shrugged. He looked at Natsume with a peculiar look on his face. He stood up.

"I'm going to bed. I'll take Natsume up with me." He walked over to Natsume, and picked him up bridel style. It looked kind of funny.

"Bloody hell! This boy's light!" Harry gasped. He took Natsume up to the boys' domatories. And before he shut the door, he gave Mikan a peculiar look. It was as if he wanted to say something. But he seemed to think better of it, and simply closed the door.

"KYA!!" Hermione squeeled, "Tell me, EVERYTHING! What's going on between you two?"

"Me and who?" Mikan asked.

"Natsume-san!"

"Th-there's nothing going on between me and Natsume!" Mikan said, a bit too hurriedly.

"Yes there is!" Hermione cooed.

"N-no, there isn't! W-we're j-just f-friends."

"You're just 'friends'? Or possibly..." she let that thought hang in the air. Mikan stood up very quickly.

"I'm going to bed!" she knew her face was very red. She didn't care.

When she layed in her bed in the domatory, thoughts banged around in her head. Why was Natsume telling her to... was it to stay? Where was she going to go? Why did Hermione seem to think they were a couple? THey most certainly were not! If there was one thing Mikan knew, it was that she and Natsume Hyuuga would NEVER be a couple. They were on oposite sides of the spectrum.  
What was this feeling that was bubbling up from the pit on her stomach to her chest? It felt strange.

"Mikan-san?" Hermione whispered. Mikan didn't reply, but Hermione knew she was awake.

"Mikan-san... no matter what you decide... I'm sure everything will turn out okay."

What did THAT mean?

(please continue to chapter four)

Author note:

I'd like to give a BIG THANKS to dominiqueanne (has an account), swansong (doesn't have an account), Noelle (doesn't have an account), and claireponcheeeii (has an account). THank you for reveiwing! I'm feeling alot better today. The next chapter should be longer. And if anyone has an idea for the story, I'd be glad to hear them. All ideas will be taken into consideration (exept for the really stupid ones) and I'll see if I can maybe weave them into the story. (However, I make no promises) I'll get chapter four up as soon as possible. Jai-ne! 


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: His Worst Fears (part one)

Chapter 4: His Worst Fears

"Hello, class! My name is proffessor Lupin. I have a special class today."

Mikan looked over at Natsume and grinned. He had been thinking about ditching but Mikan made him come. And now they were going

to have a 'special clsss'. Her smile clearly said "I told you so". Natsume grunted at her, and crossed his arms.

"I'm going to let you all battle a bogart. Now, for our two exchange students, I'll work the actual magic part. We will be

working with bogarts. Who can tell me what a bogart LOOKS like?"

"No one knows." said Hermione just after puttting her hand in the air.

"Where did she come from?" Ron asked Harry.

"Correct. THe bogart takes the form of what you fear to most. Now, the spell to get RID of a boggart is Rediculus. Now when,

you say this spell you must turn the boggart into something amusing. You must think of something FUNNY. Because what really

finishes off a bogart is LAUGHTER. Now, for Miss Sakura and Mr. Hyuuga (AN: Siriously, was that SUPOSED to be a Naruto referance?)

I will do the spell, but you will think of what to turn the bogart into. Now, everyone, line up!"

Everyone lined up. Draco Malfoy had the audasity to push Natsume forward, into one of the girls (who screamed like a girl in

a horror movie). Natsume was so close to burning that his blood praticaly thirted for it, however Mikan gave him a 'don't even

think of it' look. It wasn't enough to stop Natsume completly, but he didn't injure Malfoy terrably.

"OUCH!" Malfoy yelped, holding his hand. "Who did that?!"

Natsume smirked. (Who do you think?)

"Now, I'm going to let the bogart out. Be ready."

One by one, the kids fought the bogart. It took very funny forms, too. A spider with no legs, a vampier with a muzzle, PRofesor

Snape in a dress. . . . . .

"Mikan, it's your turn now."

Mikan stepped up to the bogart (who was curenty in the form of an octopuse wearing rollerskates). Lupin got behind her and

held his wand at the ready. THe bogart took the form of. . . . . . .

Yuka.

Natsume gasped. He knew who that woman really was. It seemed almost. . . . . . terrible for Mikan to be afraid of her. But it

also made sence. Yuka was a dangrouse criminal, who had the alice to steel other alices. She had stollen Yuu's alice once upon

a time. THat was all Mikan thought about her. THat she was a hardened criminal who hurt her friends. But the truth was, she

was also Mikan's mother. But Mikan didn't know that. . . . . .

Yuka took a step forward.

"Are you ready, Mikan?" Lupin asked.

"Yes."

"Alright, then. Rediculus!"

Nothing happened.

"Rediculus!"

Still, nothing happened. Yuka took anouther step forward. She held out her hand to Mikan, who backed away.

"It's okay," Yuka-Bogart said, "Just take my hand..."

"No!" Mikan fell to the ground when she tried backing away again.

"Rediculus!" Remus tried again. It didn't work.

"Take my hand, you insuferable-!"

"Get away from me!"

"Stop!" Natsume had broken out of line, and ran forward. He got in between the bogart and Mikan. He didn't know if the bogart

could take someones alice or not, but he wasn't about to sit back and find out.

Yuka began to transform. She slowly became. . . . .

Mikan.

Mikan stared at the other her. Mikan-bogart had her arms crossed, and her legs spred apart.

"Do you think I'm an idiot?" Mikan-bogart said, "I would never l-" But, shockingly, the bogart began to change again. Mikan's

image slowly began to shrink and become something else. Something... smaller.

Suddenly, a little girl Mikan had never seen before stood before her. She was tiny, and could only be a kid. She had black

hair, like Natsume's. Tears streamed down from her glittering red eyes. Who was this little girl who was the spitting image

of Natsume? (Aoi Hyuuga)

"Aniki!" the little girl cried. "Aniki! It hurts! They hurt me! Aniki! Aniki! Save me! I'm scared!"

"Aoi. . . . ." Natsume gasped.

THe little girl transformed again, and became none other than Ruka.

"Natsume," Ruka said in a dangrouse voice, "How could you betray me like that? You know how I feel!"

Natsume seemed to come to his sences once again. "GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" he shouted, "THEY'RE NOT REAL! GET OUT OF MY HEAD! MY

THOUGHTS ARE PRIVET!"

Flames erupted around the bogart, who was bouncing in-between the forms of Mikan, the litte girl, and Ruka. THe bogart took

a step back. It was afraid.

"NATSUME!" Mikan shouted. Natsume was holding his head in his hands. He was paniking. He fell to his knees. Mikan was vagly

aware that the other kids were screaming. She stood up, and moved forward.

"Natsume! Stop! STOP!!" She got down to her knees once she was directly behinf Natsume, and wrapped her arms around him. The

fire dissapeared because of her Nulification alice. Natsume was shaking. He didn't move. Lupin ran forward, causing the bogart

to become what looked like a crystal ball (but we all know it's a moon) and sent it into the wardrob it came out of.

"Well!" Remus Lupin said, sounding exasparated, "Nothing left to see here! Thank you, Natsume, for singing the floor. I always

thought there sould be floor decoration here. Nice circle. Ehem! Class dissmised."

Some of the students left, but others stayed. Actually, most of them stayed. Everyone wanted to make sure Natsume was alright.

(at least all the Griffendoors ')

"Is he okay?" Pavarti Patil asked.

"N-Natsume?" asked Nevle.

"Hey! You okay, mate?" Ron asked.

"Give him some room!" Dean complained.

"What was all that about?"

"Fire! There was fire!"

"I think I know who burned me. . . . . . "

"Get away from me," Natsume's voice finally said, sounding venemus. Everyone backed away except Mikan. She was used to Natsume's

tough guy rutien. She knew most people would be terrafied. But she was one of the people who wasn't afraid of Natsume's anger.

THe other was Ruka. (Hotaru simply didn't care)

"Get away!" he tried to push Mikan away, but she held on. He eventualy stopped stugling. When Mikan loosened her grip on him,

he gently pulled away from her. He slowly stood up. Mikan watched him.

"You used your Alice against me."

Mikan didn't respond. It was true. She had nullified his Alice. But she couldn't remember weather she planned on doing it or

not.

Natsume didn't look at her. He didn't look at anyone. He didn't even say a word. He simply left the room.Everyone was wondering

the same thing: was Natsume all right?

"What was up with his bogart?" one of the kids asked.

"It... turned into three different people."

"THat kid looked cute."

"She had red eyes! She was creepy..."

"Natsume has red eyes."

"That boy... wasn't he with Natsume? The other Alice Academy kid? THe one put in Hufflepuff?"

"Betrayed..."

"And Mikan! Mikan was also the bogart! What was that about...?"

Mikan didn't talk to anyone either. Her thoughts were on Natsume. When she ran into Hotaru in the hall, she told her what

happened.

"And then he just left!"

Hotaru didn't say much at first. Mikan couldn't tell weatehr she was thinking of ignoring her.

"What did bogart you say again?"

"I don't know! Something like... 'Am I a moron? I wouldn't ever... something'."

"Hum..."

"Hotaruuuuuuuuu!" Mikan sighed.

"What?"

"Something's weied! I just know it!" Mikan pouted. THe layed down on Hotaru's lap. She closed her eyes.

"What's weired?" Hotaru asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Natsume-kun! He's... weired!"

"How?" Hotrau asked, brushing Mikan's hair with her hand.

"I don't know... He just is."

Hotaru sighed. She leaned against the wall behind her.

"I think I know what's going on here." She said.

"Really!?" Mikan asked, sitting up, "What? What?"

"It'll cost you 100 galions."

Mikan's jaw dropped. "I don't have that kind of money!"

"This is personal information on the Kuro Neko. On the Prince of Alice Academy. It's going to cost you."

"You're cold-hearted, Hotaru-chan." Mikan said, laying back down. "I wish Natsume would just tell me what wrong..."

BAKABAKABAKABAKABAKABAKA!

"OW!" Mikan yelped, after being hit with the Baka-Gun, "What was that for?!"

"For thinking Natsume, King of Mystary and Prince of Pride, would ever tell you how he feels."

"Feels?"

"Never mind. . . . . . . . "

(Continue to chapter 5)

Author Note:

I'd like to thank Beginging of Twilight (has an account) for reveiwing. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I am really

proud of this fan fiction. I'll do my best to inclued the Potter Characters and Ruka-pyon and Hotaru more. (It's really hard

with all the cute Natsu-chan and Mikan moments.) What will happen to Natsu-chan and Mikan? What will happen to Hotaru and

Ruka? What about Harry and the gang? THe Prisoner of Azkaban is on the loose. What will be done about THAT?? (I know, Sirius

is really a good guy, but they don't know that yet!)

P.S. Sorry for all the spoilers in this chapter. At least I didn't tell you Snape kills Dumbledor! Oh, wait. . . . . .


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 4: His Worst Fears (part one)

Chapter five: My Would-Be Brother

"Ne! Natsume!" Ruka hurried forward, trying to catch up with his best friend. "Natsume! Matte!" (Matte Wait)

Natsume turned around. Ruka stopped running and started panting.

"Natsume! Don't go so fast! What's up?"

"Nothing." Natsume snapped, turning away.

"Don't give me that! Natsume!" Ruka snapped at him, "All of Griffendoor was talking about how you set a fire in Defense Against the Dark Arts, in Herbology."

"ALL of Griffendoor?"

"Well. . . . . Not Mikan. But she did seem very bothered. Natsume, I heard that the bogart turned into Mikan. And what sounded like your sister. . . . . . And me."

"Ch!" was Natsume's reply.

"NATSUME!"

But Natsume didn't exactly hear Ruka. His mind was too occupied with thoughts of that BET he made with Persona. . . . . . .

"_Natsume. . . . . . . . . Do you think you'll ever fall in love?" _

"_No." _

"_Are you sure?" _

"_Yes." _

"_What about Mikan 'Sakura'?" _

"_Especially not Mikan Sakura." _

"_Really? Then you wouldn't mind making a bet." _

"_What kind of bet?" _

"_If you fall in love with Mikan Sakura, you must become a teacher at Alice Academy." _

"_Why would I take a bet like that?" _

"_Because if you graduate from Alice Academy without falling in love with Mikan Sakura, I'll set your sister free." _

"_You. . . . . . will?" _

"_Yes." _

"_You're not LYING?"_

"_I wouldn't lie to you Natsume. Honestly. Everything I've said, perhaps unpleasant, has been true."_

"_You'd really set Aoi free? You let her leave the Academy?"_

"_Perhaps not that. But I'll let her be with the other kids. How 'bout it, Natsume? Do we have a deal?" _

"_Deal!" _

Natsume felt like kicking himself. He had made that deal before he really knew Mikan. Now. . . . . . . . .

"NATSUME!" Ruka yelled.

"Huh?" Natsume turned around.

"I'm talking to you! What wrong, Natsume? Is something bothering you?" Ruka said, placing his hands on his hips. Natsume snorted.

"What?"

"You look even more like a girl when you do that."

Ruka blushed. (AN: Sorry, Ruka, but it's true.)

"What happened?" Ruka asked, shaking the comment off, "Why did the bogart turn into me? They say it said "you betrayed me". What was that about?"

"It has nothing to do with you!"

"Of course it has something to do with me!" (AN: he has a point Natsume...)

"No, it doesn't!" (Mind like a steal trap...)

"Natsume..."

Natsume didn't respond. Ruka grabbed him by the hand and spun him around.

"Natsume!" Ruka took Natsume by the shoulders and shook him, "C'mon! Man! What's wrong with you?! What about Mikan?! Did that bogart have nothing to do with Mikan?! What do you fear about her?! Natsume!"

Natsume stared at Ruka with fear in his eyes. Ruka sensed this and loosened his grip on Natsume. Natsume felt hot tears come up to his eyes. He ignored them. He knew he wasn't going to cry. No matter how much he wanted to, or needed to, he would never cry again. He had already hardened his own heart.

Natsume pulled away from Ruka.

"Ruka..."

"Yes, Natsume?" Ruka asked.

"You asked me what I fear about Mikan Sakura. I can't tell you..."

"Why?!" Ruka asked, shocked.

"I can't risk someone overhearing it. People who figure it out know me, and know not to test me with foolish actions. I trust you not to tell anyone, Ruka. Don't get me wrong. But I can't risk someone overhearing. And I can't risk that bogart becoming reality."

Ruka stiffened.

""And. . . . . . ." Natsume hesitated, "And. . . . . . . I've never. . . . . said it out loud before."

"What?" Ruka asked. He stared at his be friend.

Natsume turned away from Ruka. His thoughts were filled to the brim. Thoughts about the deal with Persona. Thoughts about Aoi (his sister). Thoughts about his family. Thoughts about. . . . . . . Mikan.

_She's pure._ Natsume thought. _I'd never have a chance with her, if I tried. I'm to... dark. _

Those tears still glittered behind his eyes. But they wouldn't come to the surface. He knew they wouldn't. He risked a glance at Ruka. He knew Ruka knew what was going on inside Natsume's mind. Ruka knew the tears wouldn't come. Ruka was the only one he could count on to comfort him in these moments.

Except. . . . . . . . Mikan.

Natsume tried to shale the thought away, but failed. The memory of when Tsubasa went missing came back to his mind. He had been on the same mission Tsubasa was on. They had failed. He felt very guilty that Tsubasa's whereabouts where unknown. Natsume had returned to school, but didn't want anyone to see him until he found Tsubasa. But Natsume had a feeling. It didn't feel good. It felt like...

his brunette was crying.

And he was right. He snuck into her room at night, and, when she woke up, he tried to tell her not to cry. But when he did, she had answered "... It's impossible for me not to cry. Because of you." At the time, Natsume didn't understand. But he did now. Mikan... was crying in his place.

"Natsume?" Ruka asked, snapping Natsume out of his daze.

"H-hun?"

"I'm sorry. I don't understand. Can't you... ever just... tell me what I have to do? To make you... happy?"

Natsume stared at his best friend. Tears where swimming in Ruka's eyes. It seemed as if Ruka was trying to hold them back. Not so that he wouldn't look manly (as most boy's hold back their tears for), but because he didn't want to have a privilege that Natsume was denied. It was too much. Life was too unfair for Natsume. Ruka couldn't stand it.

And Natsume couldn't stand Ruka's overprotective love.

"Cry, Ruka."

Ruka's eyes widened and one or two tears spilled out of them. He tried to wipe them away, but Natsume grabbed his hand.

"If you need to cry, Ruka, do it! Don't hold them back for my sake! Just... cry! For me..."

Ruka looked Natsume in the eye. He blinked once. Then twice.

"Natsume!" Ruka said. However, it was muffled, because he had buried his face in Natsume's shirt. Tears where spilling from his eyes. Natsume had never seen anyone cry like that before.

"I'm sorry, Natsume! Why?! Why?! It's always Natsume! Even this trip... Even this whole exchange program! Why? Why?! WHY?! Why does it HAVE to be NATSUME!?"

"Ruka..."

"Do they even care?! Do they even care what happens to you?! For the love of God! Do they even know how special you are?! You're too good a person to be sent off somewhere on PURPOSE and have a very high change you'll be KILLED! I can't stand it, Natsume! I CAN'T STAND IT!"

"You're..." Ruka continued, after a moment of crying in silence, "...important to me... Please... You're like the brother I never had, Natsume... I love you... Natsume..."

(note: the above was not a yaoi love confession. Brotherly love only.)

"Ruka..."

They stayed like that until Ruka stopped crying . . . . . . . . .

(Please continue to chapter six)

Author Note:

Hey... how was it? I know, the conversation starts out with Ruka asking for information, but you have to understand that when Natsume told Ruka he wanted him to cry, everything poured out. (Ruka is very sensitive, when you really think about it.) And in case you did not read my 'note', THERE IS NO YAOI IN THIS FANFIC! I AM JUST A BIG A FAN AS ANY OTHER GIRL, BUT SIRIOUSLY! IT'S BROTHERLY LOVE! RUKAXNATSU-CHAN WILL NEVER HAPPEN!! Fangirls will kill me for saying that... BTW, the bet with Persona was made up, however the thing about when Tsubasa went missing isn't. That really happened. I'd like to thank Spiraled.Star, Ljserpent, and candyluvva for reviewing.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter six: Let me get this strait

Chapter six: Let me get this strait...

"Sirius?" Lupin gasped, entering the classroom. All the kids looked around wildly, but the prisoner wasn't there. Lupin shook his head.

"Um... sorry. Son, please don't put your feet on the table like that," Lupin said, knocking Natsume's feet off the table. Lupin couldn't help but remember when Sirius Black would do that in his school says...

"Hogsmeet is coming up," Lupin continued, "I trust you all have permission slips?"

Most people nodded. But Mikan and Natsume stared at him blankly.

"Permission form?"

"What are you talking about, old man?"

"Natsume!"

"Oh! Were you not given a permission form?" Lupin asked, "I'm sure your parents would gladly sine it if we sent it to them..."

"My parents are dead..." Mikan said.

"Oh... I'm sorry..." Lupin said, "I'm sure your guardian will sign it, though..."

"Mm-hum! Grandpa will probably sine it! He lives in a remote village in Japan!"

Lupin twitched. That would take a long time to get to him...

"And... you, Natsume?"

"My mother is dead, but my father might sine it if you can get it to him. I don't know where he lives. I was taken away from him the day our village burned down. I hear he's been trying to write me though. He'd like to know I'm alright, even if it's only from a permission form sent from an unknown school."

Lupin twitched again. The kid didn't even know where his father lived...!

"How about this..." Lupin said, "I'll assume they'll sine it, and write you a permission slip."

"Okay," they said in unison.

After class, Mikan caught up with Hermione.

"Hey!"

"Hi, Mikan-chan!"

"What's up?" Mikan said, looking over at Harry.

"Harry couldn't get his aunt and uncle to sine his permission form."

"Too bad. . . . . . . "

Natsume watched Mikan from afar. Suddenly, his pocket vibrated. He pulled his phone out of it (which was made to that it worked in Hogwarts via someone's alice), and flipped it open.

"What is it... Persona?" he whispered.

. . . . . .

"What?"

"_You heard me Natsume. Catch her before she gets into contact with Sirius Black. The latest news was that they where in the same area._"

Natsume closed his phone. "Kuso..." he cursed under his breath.

(please continue to chapter seven)

Author Note:

I'M SORRY THIS IS SO SHORT! Only one and a half pages... But, I would like to thank Lycrea for reviewing. Also, I'd like to announce that I have a few Gakuen Alice music videos, if you would like to watch them, here is where you can go:

/watch?vLNb5sX9KGmk

/watch?vYMIMCrl9sdg

/watch?vLJb5ZYAOds

/watch?vpd2s7dNpzRM

/watch?vsgECy5u8ZoQ (Not entirely sure why I made this one, board I guess)

/watch?vTcZL4m8an3A

/watch?vqzdmWx5shmA

/watch?vG6NrHuZG9tQ

I plan on making a Natsume AMV to the song "What have you done". Any other ideas?


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter six: Let me get this strait

Chapter seven: Lots of stuff...

"Hey... Hyuuga," Ronald Weasly approached Natsume. He had his hands in his pockets and was looking really sullen.

"What is it?"

"I had a row with Hermione. Can I hang out with you for a bit? She's with Harry, right now..."

"Whatever."

Ron looked at their surroundings. "Why are we outside the Hufflepuff dormitory?"

"I'm waiting for Ruka," Natsume answered. He hated answering questions.

"Who's Ruka? Your girlfriend?" And Ron loved asking them.

"Ruka's a boy."

"Oh... is he your boyfriend?"

"Hell... no..." (AN: I cannot stress this enough...)

"Ah... okay..." Ron leaned against the wall. "Hey... Natsume? Have you ever... well... I'm a little embarrassed asking this... I don't even know you that well..."

"No, I will not go out with you."

"EW! That's not it! I was just thinking... you're a popular guy, right? So... have you ever been in... I mean... well... have you ever... do you... what I'm trying to ask is... What does l-love feel like? Have you ever been in love?"

Natsume stared at him. Ron was looking at him expectantly. Natsume raised an eyebrow when realization hit him.

"Granger..." he muttered, slamming the back of him head into the wall.

"W-wha-?! N-n-no! I don't like Hermione like that!"

"Don't give me that."

"I-I-!"

"Just shut up."

Ron bit his lip. Natsume wasn't paying attention to him anymore. He was done playing with Ron. His mind was on another memory. When someone else had thought that Natsume was so cool, so he must have kissed a lot of girls...

"_Wow! That's so cool!" _

"_I bet Natsume's kissed lots of girls!" _

_Natsume was already walking away from them, leaving Mikan to take care of everything. She had tripped wile they were dancing and fallen on him. Their mouths met. It was a kiss, right? Natsume wondered. It was messy if it was. Her teeth actually cut his bottom lip! _

_Natsume found a sakura tree away from the Christmas party. It seemed like a nice place to be away from other people. And for a wile, it was. _

_But after a wile, a young girl showed her face up in that tree with him. _

_Mikan. _

_Suddenly, Mikan broke the silence. She started complaining, and she roughly blew her nose. _

"_Hide that..." Natsume mutters. _

_Mikan had been worrying about a superstition about the masks and the Christmas party. She was very upset. _

"_You're being stupid for believing in the jinx. If the wind blew off everyone's mask, would all in the room be jinxed? Stupid." _

_Mikan laughed. _

"_Hey," Natsume snaps, "Aren't you angry with me?" _

"_Natsume! You jerk!" Mikan yells, remembering, "How could you have said that we kissed in PUBLIC?!" _

"_Did something happen between you and Ruka?" _

"_W-what are you talking about? Nothing happened..." _

"_Say it." _

"_Even if something DID happen, it's none of your business. It's between me and Ruka-pyon..." _

_Natsume stared at her, not believing his ears. _

"_What?!" Mikan asks, "Erm... I heard the others saying this... Natsume, are you often kissed?" _

"_Did you kiss Ruka?" Natsume asked, getting mad. _

_Mikan blushed, "That was... anyways, what about you?! Have you really ever kissed before?" _

"_You don't suit Ruka, Ugly!" Natsume yelled at her. He was mad. Very mad. Ruka was his best friend. He loved Ruka. And Mikan was. . . . . He also. . . . . ._

"_Jerk! Pervert! Shmuck! Bastered! I wouldn't ever want to be in the place of someone kissing YOU, Natsume!" _

"_That's you!" _

"_Ah...! That... That wasn't a kiss. Don't count that..." Mikan said, turning away from him. _

_Natsume sits there for a moment. He looks to his feet for a second before... _

_He grabbed Mikan by the fuzzy collar of her dress, and pulled her into a kiss. Mikan was caught off guard, and is VERY shocked. Somehow (neither is quite sure) she got over it, and let Natsume kiss her. She blushes very much and closes her eyes. Natsume uses his tong and forces entry into her mouth. He felt hot breath come up from her throat. He could even fell his own breath. _

_Mikan pushed away from Natsume, breaking the kiss. She gasps for air, as Natsume's mouth had been denying it. _

"_It's because you said that earlier wasn't a kiss."_

_Mikan's eyes shot open, and she looked over at Natsume. Natsume looked away from her, and touched his lip. _

"_So, that's a kiss..." he said, basically answering the question Mikan had asked not too long ago, although Mikan couldn't remember their conversation at all after that. "I don't see what the big deal is about it."_

_Mikan is wordless. She stares blankly at him, her mouth hanging open slightly, and her hand clutching her chest. Natsume jumps off the sakura tree branch and lands on the ground perfectly. Cats always fall on their feet, right? _

_Natsume begins to walk away. Mikan is still staring at Natsume, lost for words. Natsume turns back to look at her, for a moment, with a small expectant sparkle in his eye. But the moment was lost, as Natsume began to walk away again. It was... a very... _

_White Christmas._

"Hey, mate! You still in their?" Ron's voice called Natsume back to the living. (AN: OMG! I've never been kissed, how the hell did I write that??)

"Hn..." Natsume answered. (Our favorite line!)

"Like I was saying, have you ever fallen in love?"

"Hn..." Natsume stepped in front of Ron and looked him strait in the eye. "Take my advice. Go find Granger, and make up with her. Don't let this fight go on longer than it has to. Make up as soon as possible, 'kay?"

"Huh?"

"Just do it, Baka!" Natsume enjoyed being able to use Japanese words around this guy without paying the consequences. He liked that very much.

"I don't know... if I make up with her too soon..."

"Your best friend's in a bit of a jam, right? Not being able to go to hogsmet? He'll need you both. Perfect timing to make up, don't you think?"

Ron stared at him, "Are you really this calculating?"

Natsume smirked. Suddenly, he felt a familiar presence.

"You might-"

Too late. The Hufflepuff dormitory door already swung open. Because the door looked like the wall, it just so happened that Ron was leaning against it, and was now laying flat on his back.

"Oh..." Ruka said, staring down at him, "I'm sorry."

"Don't be, Ruka. Let's go."

Ron felt Natsume's foot step on him. He thanked his lucky stars Ruka was a gentleman.

"That jerk," Ron muttered. Sitting up.

"Oh! Ron!" Hermione's voice was heard. Ron looked up. Hermione was standing to too far away from him, holding a bunch of books. She seemed caught between two instincts. Ron quickly stood up.

"Uh... Hermione! Fancy seeing you here! Uh! N-not that I fancy _you_ or anything... I just... I... uh..."

"Was that Nogi-kun just now?"

"Uh... you mean that Ruka guy? Yeah. He and Natsume were just here."

"Don't do that!"

"What?"

"Don't call them by just their names! In Japan, if you don't have their permission to call them by just their first name, it can be very insulting! I read about it in-"

"A book?"

"YES! A _BOOK_!"

Suddenly, something hit Ron upside the head. A small squeak came from Hermione's mouth, when Ron fell forward rubbing the back of his head.

"OWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOW!"

He looked down and saw a potions text book lying on the ground next to him. The cover was flipped open and on the inside was a name written in Japanese.

"Are you okay, Ron?"

"Y-yeah..." Ron said, looking up at her. Hermione's overwhelming beauty was shining down on him like the sun to earth. "Yeah... I just... wanted to apologize. Your cat's not so... evil."

"Well, um, thank you..." Hermione said. She seemed to be juggling her books and trying to help Ron up. Ron saved her the trouble by getting up himself.

"And, um, I guess I can keep Crookshanks out of you room, at least..." Hermione said, blushing a tidbit.

"Yeah... I guess I'm just so nervous because he's such an old rat..."

"I'm sorry!" cried a voice from behind, "That's mine!"

Hermione looked up and Ron turned around. Ruka Nogi was running towards them. Natsume was waiting for him at the other end of the hall. Hermione's face went bright red, almost as red as Ron's hair.

"Nogi-kun!"

"Ruka... urm... kun?"

"Sorry!" Ruka said, slowing down, "That book's mind. Natsume and Imai-chan are always taking my stuff. Natsume suddenly just grabbed a book from my bag and through it. I wish he'd treat my books with respect. They're hard to replace."

"I know..." Hermione's face HAD gone just as red as Ron's hair, "Books are so expensive... but they're wonderful..."

"Yeah," Ruka said, bending down to pick up his potions book, "I've done the math. Natsume has 265 worth of mangas."

"I like mangas. They're so much better than English comic books..."

"I've never read them myself. I prefer real books."

"So do I!" Hermione said, "We've got so much in common, Ruka-kun!"

Ron twitched.

"Sure. We should hang out sometime. Me and Imai are going to go to Hogsmet together. You wanna come?"

"Imai?" Hermione asked.

"Ruka," Natsume's voice called, "Come on! And what's that about going to hogsmet with Imai?! Why the hell would you want to do that?!"

"She's not that bad, Natsume!" Ruka yelled, running back to him.

"She?" Hermione said, gaping at him.

"Hermione?" Ron asked, venomously, "What's wrong with you?"

"Huh? Oh... well... really this is something I should be talking to Ginny about... I think I will! Thank you, Ron! You're a real pal!" Hermione punched him in the arm, smiling.

"Pal?" Ron muttered to himself as she skipped off.

Ron was feeling depressed all over again. He began shuffling off to the Griffindor dormitories.

"Paaaaaassword?" asked the Fat Lady.

"WhichNip."

"No, thank you," the Fat Lady joked, swinging open. Suddenly, just as Ron was climbing into the dormitory, a girl began climbing out.

"Oh! I'm sorry..."

Mikan Sakura stood in front of him. She was holding Hermione's demon cat in her arms, and looked cute as ever. She was smiling at him; Crookshanks's squished face looked very annoyed.

"Ohayo, Ron! How're things?"

"Um... fine. Urg... Ohio?"

"Ohayo!"

Ron didn't get it.

"Isn't that Crookshanks?"

"Yup! I'm taking him to Hermione. I think he's hungry."

"Why? He trying to eat my bloody rat?"

"No, my Howalon. Plus he looks just like Natsume when he's mad!" she buried her face in Crookshanks's fur.

"What are you doing back here?" she asked suddenly.

"I'm... not feeling too well. Um... Mikan was it?"

"Yes...?"

"What's you and Natsume's relationship?"

"Me and-! Me and-! N-N-N-N-N-N-NATSUME?! Why?!"

"Well, I was curious. Are you a couple?"

"C-c-couple? Did HE tell you that? I'll kill him! It's not true! Even if we DID kiss, it was only once, and HE was the one who kissed ME and HE was the one who said he was just PROOVING A POINT! NATSUME NO BAKA!"

"Whoa! It was just a guess! You and Natsume k-k-k-k-?"

"Uh..." Mikan stopped, "Oh... a-amo... d-don't tell anyone, okay?" Mikan blushed, "I didn't even tell Hotaru-chan... and she's my best friend. I don't think Natsume told Ruka-pyon, either. It... didn't mean anything. PLEASE DON'T TELL!" Mikan bowed, very deeply. Crookshanks kicked like crazy for fear of falling.

"I... I won't tell."

Mikan perked up very much at that. "Domo arigato gizayimasu, Ron-kun!"

"Hey, I can't hold this open forever!" the Fat Lady complained.

"Oh... gomen! C'mon, Croo-chan! (Crookshaks)" Mikan hurried out the door, and the Fat Lady slammed it shut behind her.

"I can't believe I _told_ someone about that!" Mikan told Crookshanks, blushing, "I didn't _mean_ to! I thought Natsume did! Oh! Natsume's gonna _kill_ me! K-I-L-L... OOOFF!" Mikan fell backwards, Crookshanks leaping out of her arms.

"Itei..." Mikan looked up to see...

Natsume.

"N-N-N-N-Natsume!" She screamed, raising her hands into the air. She then winced. She looked up to see that when Crookshanks leaped out of her arms, he had cut her. A long cut bled from her elbow to just below the veins in her wrist. Mikan turned pale at the thought of bleeding to death via cat scratch. Thank god for just below!

"Baka..." but Natsume then noticed the scratch. He grabbed her wrist.

"Don't go around playing with cats, you'll only get yourself hurt," he said in a not-so-comforting voice.

"Uuuuuuuuuuuh-huh!" Mikan said, squinting her eyes at him. _'Stay away from cats he says. The infamous Black CAT is telling me not to go around playing with kitties.' _

As if he read her mind, Natsume let go of her, and got right down to her level and looked her strait in the eye. "There will be no mentioning my _job_ when we're here... Panda Print."

Mikan blinked. Panda...

He saw IT. _AGAIN!_

"NATSUME! HENTAI! HENTAI! NATSUME NO HENTAI! BAKA! BAKA!" Mikan hit Natsume many times in the chest, however it didn't faze him at all.

"If you don't want people seeing, stop wearing skirts, Panda."

"NATSUME YOU MEANIE! It's Alice Academy's dress code!"

"Not Hogwarts's. Ba-" Natsume flicked her forehead, "-ka!"

"Kya! Itai! Natsume no teme..." tears welled up in Mikan's eyes as the pain took affect. Even Natsume's fingers where powerful...

"I'm sorry."

Huh?

Mikan looked up at him. He shoved his hands in his pockets.

"All I ever do is make you cry, right? I'm the reason you cry." Natsume shook. The memory of Tsubasa's disappearance came back to him once again. "_It's impossible for me not to cry... because of you." _

"What are you talking about, Natsume?"

"I'm sorry." Natsume said, not looking at her, "It was my fault that Tsubasa went mission. I was on that mission with him. I could have done something..."

"There was nothing you could have done! It was an accident! Besides, Tsubasa-senpai's alright! He back at Alice Academy and is doing _fine!_" Mikan grabbed the front of his shirt, "What's wrong with you?!"

Natsume looked her dead in the eye. "You told me that day. I know, Mikan. I'm the reason you cry." He pushed away from her and walked away. Mikan watched him go. _No..._ she thought, _That's not what I meant, Natsume. I don't cry BECAUSE of you. I cry FOR you. Natsume... no baka._

(Please continue to chapter eight)

Author Note:

I'm so happy! This ones a lot longer! Nine pages! Yay. I'm trying to get in the RukaxHotaru relationship, please hold your horses. That relationship is hard to show. (Gomenasai...) And... OMFG! HOW THE H-E-double-hockey sticks DID I WRITE A BLEEPING KISS SCEAN?? Sure I just wrote what I saw, but _still_! Kya!

Anyway, thank you Blaze Moonlight and Fiction C9 for reviewing! You guys don't know how happy it makes me when I get to hear what you thought! Any and all reviews will be read and any and all ideas will be taken into consideration! (except for the REALLY stupid ones!) Oh! And before I had been working in 'text' which is SOOOOOO _NOT_ recommended, so none of my spelling or grammar errors where caught. I am now working in Microsoft, so errors are less likely. (Yay)

And if you weren't able to use the link-like-things to see my AMVs and you still want to, my name on YouTube is time0space0witch.

Can't wait to hear from you!

Chau!


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter six: Let me get this strait

Chapter eight: Hogsmet

"And so he said he's going to Hogsmet with a girl name "Imai" and if I wanted to go with them. What should I do, Ginny?"

"Go!" Ginny said, "If he's asking you to go with them, then it's okay! They're not a couple!"

"Really? Does that really mean anything? I mean... I go on group not-a-date-dates..."

"With who?"

Hermione thought about it, "I'm not sure."

"Hey." A girl's voice said. Hermione and Ginny turned around to see a sad looking Mikan Sakura.

"Oh! Ohayo, Mikan-chan."

"Hey, Mi-chan."

"What's wrong?"

"Whaaaaaa!" Mikan burst into tears that looked rather comical. She collapsed to her knees right next to them and began trying to eat the sleeve of her robe. "NATSUME BAKA DOESN'T UNDERSTAND GIRLS AT ALL! WHAAAAA! BAKA BAKA BAKA BAKA BAKAAAAAAAAAA! WHAAAAAA!"

"Mi-chan..." Ginny said, taken aback.

"Mikan..." Hermione said soothingly.

"Whaaaaaa! Everyone is so... so... so... stupid! Whaaaaaa! Natsume takes everything so BADLY! Can't he EVER just _GET_ IT?! I mean... I mean... I mean... I... I... I really... I really _like_ Natsume! He doesn't _really_ hurt me! He never has! He's one of my... my... best... friends! Whaaaa! That idiot! Bakabakabakabakabakabakabakabaka!"

"Natsume's Ruka-san's friend, right?" Ginny asked, winking at Hermione.

"RUKA-PYON!" Mikan yelled, startling both Hermione and Ginny.

"-pyon?" Hermione asked, trying to figure out what honorific that was.

"Ruka-pyon was just as bad a few years ago! He confused me JUST AS MUCH! Ruka-pyon was always acting so weird when we were younger! I never understood it! He was always so nice to me, but when Natsume _caught _him being nice to me, be acted really guilty. And then there was that one time at the Christmas party when he kissed my cheek, and it was so weird and _horrible_ and also that was the same night Natsume-!" Mikan's hand went to her mouth. She almost told her and Natsume's secret kiss to someone else. That kiss was on her mind. She hadn't thought about it for so long, it was now driving her crazy.

"Ruka-kun... kissed your cheek?" Hermione asked.

"Oh! It was really nothing! Just a little _kiss_ between friends! _Kissing_... it means nothing, right? Just two peoples _mouths touching_, right? Right? I mean, what else is a _kiss_ supposed to be? It can be an accident, not necessarily _lovely-dovey _stuff, right? _Kissing_ isn't only for _lovers_! Boys can _kiss_, and so can girls! Right? That doesn't mean anything! Well, unless your same-gender-_love_, but I've never met anyone like that! Haha! _Love... Kissing... _you girls are so silly!"

They just stared at Mikan, who looked like a crazy person.

"Are you okay, Mi-chan?" Ginny asked, placing a hand on her forehead, "How about you go to Hogsmet with Ron? It'll be fun. Hermione's going with Ruka-san and Imai-san, but I bet my brother will go with you."

"Hotarau? You're going with Hotaru and Ruka-pyon?"

"Yes."

"If you don't want to go, I'm sure you can stay behind and keep Harry company! And I think I heard that Natsume's not going either. Something about having something else to do..."

"Natsume's staying behind?! Well... urm... that's his problem! I'm going!"

"Yay!"

With Natsume

"You sure you're not going to Hogsmet?"

"I'm sure."

"Why not, Natsume? It'll be cool, right?"

"I don't want to."

"Mmmmm..."

"You know Mikan?"

"Of course I do, Natsume!" Ruka said, raising an eyebrow.

"Do you think I'm too... possessive... of her?"

"What?"

"I've been thinking. I am. At the play contest, when you and her were supposed to kiss... well... I was the one who threw the eraser at her head." Ruka began to giggle. "Stop that, Ruka. It isn't funny." Ruka shut up. "There have been other instances. I am. I'm possessive of her, but is that so _wrong?_" Natsume asked, "Is it _wrong_ not to want other men touching her? Is it _wrong_ to want to protect her? Is that so _wrong!?_"

"No," Ruka said. Natsume looked at him. Ruka closed his eyes, "It's not wrong, Natsume. I'll tell you, though. You are _quite_ possessive."

"I'm sorry, Ruka," Natsume said, quickly, "You love Mikan. I'm sorry. I..."

"Lov_ed_, Natsume. Loved. There's someone else now. But that's not the point. Your problem is you are a bit... well... pushy, I guess. Mikan is a free spirit, you know, and you _do_ like to... erm... 'keep her for yourself'."

"I-!"

"Let me finish! You get jealous of 'just friends' way too _easily_. Someone that has no chance with Mikan is a threat in your mind. Narumi-sensei for instance. He's practically her father! He could have been; he _did _love her mom. But you're jealous of that. Naru and Mikan will _never_ be in a million years, but you see Naru as a threat. ...Yes, you are possessive, but isn't it that you've been... ehem, _burned_ before and don't trust anyone? It's normal, for you."

"Don't treat me like I'm different!"

"But you _are_ Natsume. You're different. You're hurt. You've seen more things a boy your age should see. Things are _different_ in your mind. Adults are scum and so are _kids_. Who do you call by their first name besides me? Mikan. And Mikan _alone_."

Natsume gave Ruka a sharp look, but Ruka remained unfazed. Natsume broke. He sighed deeply, and leaned against the wall.

"Just go, Ruka. Imai and Granger are waiting for you."

"Are you sure, Natsume?"

"Yes. Go."

Later that day

"Sukoi!" Mikan exclaimed, walking with Ron. Ron had his hands shoved in his pockets. He was in a bad mood.

"Lookie! Lookie! KYA!!"

"Yeah, yeah..."

"Humph! What's up with you?" Mikan asked, crossing her arms.

"Nothing."

"Sakura-chan! Wesley-san!" Ron turned around to see Ruka waving him over to him, Hotaru, and Hermione. Both Hermione and Hotaru looked venomous.

"Ruka-pyon!" and Mikan was oblivious.

"Hey, you two! Want to join us?"

"N-"

"Hai!!"

A few hours later

"That's the shirking shack," Hermione said, pointing, "It's supposed to be the most haunted building in-"

"England." Ron snapped, "Yeah. We've heard."

"I haven't." Mikan said, grabbing hold of Hotaru's arm, shaking.

"They SAY!" Hermione said, pushing Ron aside, "That a few years ago, people could hear moning and tearing and howling coming from the Shrieking Shack. That's how it got its name. Even the ghost are afraid to go near it!"

"Really?" Ruka asked.

"REALLY!" Hermione said, going pink. She pushed her fingers together Hinata-style.

"S-s-s-sc-scary!" Mikan stammered.

"Scared, Sakura?" asked a crule voice from behind. They all turned around to face none other than Draco Malfoy and his cronies.

"What do you want, Malfoy?"

"Easy, Weasel-B. I'm just here, checking out the scenery. You know, having a _ghost_ of a time."

"G-g-g-g-g-ghosts?" Mikan muttered, squeezing Hotaru's arm.

"Mikan!" Hotaru snapped, but Mikan hung on.

"Yeah... ghosts. There's a rumor going around that the Shirking Shack has ghosts again. They say it's been _howling_ recently. They say the ghost eats brunettes. Good luck, Sakura, Granger."

"Natsume!" Mikan squealed, clutching Hotaru's arm to the point that it went num. Suddenly, a snow ball hit Malfoy square in the shoulder.

"What was that?!"

Next, a pile of mud slapped Crabb in the face.

"Oi..."

Snowballs and mud (and some strange green-colored stuff...) flew through the sky at Malfoy, Crabb and Goyal's random Slytherin replacement. They ran for their cleanliness in the opposite direction.

"What's all that?" Hermione asked, clearly scared.

"Kya!" Mikan yelped, definitely scared, "A GHOST! A GHOST!" she had let go of Hotaru's arm and had placed her hands on her head. She stumbled backward and hit something. "KYA! NO!"

Ron gasped as suddenly he saw a figure behind Mikan that hadn't been there a second ago. It was a person under a silky cloak. The person took part of the cloak and was revealed to be...

"Harry?"

"Uh... hey... What just happened?" Harry looked down at his invisibility cloak. Mikan was standing of the end of it, and it SHOULD have been invisible...

But it wasn't.

"Mikan... get off of his cloak," Ruka said slowly. Mikan did as she was told and it went back to being invisible.

"OMG! He's a floating head!"

"Is not. Potter-san..." Ruka asked, "It that a magic cloak?"

"Yes," Harry said folding up his invisibility cloak.

"I thought so... Everyone, you may need an explanation." Everyone stared at Ruka. "Wow, no pressure. Okay, do you all know what an alice is?"

Mikan nodded but Ron and Hermione shook their heads.

"Thought not. Us kids from Alice Academy have a thing called an 'alice'. An Alice is a gift that a person has that sets us apart from everyone else. I have the animal pheromone alice, as in, animals are attracted to me..."

"I can think of a few _other_ things that are attracted to you..." Hermione muttered. Ruka raised an eyebrow.

"Anyway, Imai-san..."

"Hotaru-chan."

Ruka looked at Hotaru, who had corrected him. He blushed when she gave him a smile.

"Um... Hotaru-chan's is... invention. She can invent anything if she sets her mind to it. There are no limits."

Hotaru nodded.

"And Natsume's is fire, and... well... you've seen that demonstrated. However, Sakura-chan's alice is Nullification."

"Nullification?" Ron asked.

"It means to nullify. To cancel out." Hermione answered.

"Precisely!" Ruka said, clapping his hands together, "And... well... I _think_ that your magical abilities are just a certain kind of alice. And extremely popular kind. Alices can run in the family, like Natsume's. And so, Mikan's Nullifying alice will occasionally cancel out your magical powers, especially when she's scared."

"Really?" Hermione asked, taking his arm, "Tell me more."

"I'm going back to the castle." Ron and Hotaru both said defiantly.

"Not before I get a taste of Butterbeer." Harry and Mikan both said.

(Blah, blah, blah, Harry learns about Sirius Black being his god father, blah, blah, blah...)

"That was great!" Mikan said when they were back at the castle.

"I guess..." Ron said, giving Harry a sideways look. Harry was even quieter than usual.

"That butterbeer was great! Oh... but not as great a howalon..."

"Hyuga." Hotaru muttered.

"Ulg! Don't ruin my bliss! Natsume would be a terrible food!"

"No, over there." Hotaru pointed. Natsume was leaning against a wall. His hand was at his mouth, and he looked kind of pale.

"Hey, Natsume! Been kissing girls, again?" Ron called, jokingly. He was trying to forget his bad mood. Mikan was about to hit him, when Harry said...

"Natsume, you don't look too good."

Mikan looked up at the same time Natsume did. His hand was still on his mouth, but now terror filled his eyes. He began to stagger forward.

"Natsume..."

Suddenly, Natsume's hand slipped and blood dipped from his mouth and he fell over.

"NATSUME!!"

(Please continue to nine)

Author Note:

Hello! Sorry for taking so long! I went on Vacation... SORRY!

Oh, and, um, time to clear up some misconceptions.

English _is_ my first language. I'm just a terrible speller and I suck grammar. the beginning of this fanfiction, I was using 'NotePad', which is a suck-ish program that doesn't have spell-check. DON'T WORRY! I'M USING MICROSOFT NOW! Sheesh...

Oh... that's the only misconception...? never mind! Please read more of my story!

And I'd like to thank dominiqueanne, Ljserpent, little.miss.kawaii, rockerfaith, and eileene for reviewing.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter six: Let me get this strait

Chapter nine: Hospital Wing of Romance?

"NATSUME!" Mikan held Natsume in her arms. Unfortunately, they hadn't quite gotten to him in time and he had hit his head on the floor. Mikan prayed he had been unconscious before he hit the ground; otherwise, it would have hurt.

"Natsume!" Harry said, forgetting his troubles temporarily. He took Natsume by the arm, and checked his pulse. It was still going...

"Alg!"

...unfortunately for Natsume's clothes.

"Natsume! Natsume!" Mikan yelled at the top of her lungs. She was getting Natsume's blood all over her clothes trying to figure out were he was injured. Although, there was one place the refused to look...

"Could he be bleeding internally?" Hotaru asked, looking concerned.

"Is he anemic?" Ron asked.

"I don't know!!" Mikan squealed. She began to cry. Hotaru had to catch Natsume because he wasn't being supported by Mikan anymore. "Whaaaaaaa! Why Natsume?! WHY?! WHY?!"

"Mikan!" Hotaru shot her with her Baka Gun. Mikan stopped crying, but only out of shock.

"We need to get him to the hospital wing." Harry said, taking Natsume from Hotaru and putting him on his back.

Many, many steps, lots of tears, and lots of Baka Gun shots later...

"My, my! What had that boy been _doing_?" Madam Pomfery asked, when she was done fixing Natsume, "His entire system is _SHOT_! What could make him bleed so much? He's definitely anemic, but I think the problem made the anemia. I can't figure it out..."

"Unlimited..." Hotaru muttered.

"What?" Mikan asked. She had been crying too hard to make out what she had said, but she felt it was important.

"_Nothing!_" Hotaru said immediately. No way she was going to share her idea with Mikan. She was NOT going to tell her best friend that Natsume might have an unlimited alice, and she was NOT going to tell her that Natsume's life has probably been WAY shortened already. No. Fing. Way.

"Is he going to be okay?" Ron asked.

"Well, after a REALLY good rest. I hooked him up on pain killers and sleeping pills. He should be out of it for a week at least."

"That sounds good..." Hotaru muttered. She promised herself that she'd keep a close eye on Hyuga. Not because she CARED if Hyuga decided to throw his life away. Because she CARED that Ruka CARED that Hyuga was healthy...

And she knew why, too.

Later

"NATSUME!" Ruka burst into the Hopital Wing. He was covered in sweat. And yet he still looked perfect. To Hotaru, when Nogi Ruka entered a room, the lights were a lot less dazzling. His blue eyes caught much more attention.

"Natsume!" he said, running up next to the bed. Mikan had fallen asleep, so she had been tucked into a bed a few rows down, and Ron and Harry had left. The only people in the room (and conscious!) were Ruka and Hotaru. Hotaru's stomach flipped.

Ruka took Natsume's hand, "You didn't tell me you'd get hurt... I wouldn't have let you do it... Natsume... Natsume... stop this... please..."

Hotaru watched the scene from behind, with her arms crossed. She was only there for Mikan. Mikan. Mikan. Mikan. Mikan. Mikan. Mi-

"Every time you get hurt, my _heart_ hurts!"

Hotaru's cool exterior broke. She walked right up behind Ruka and wrapped her arms around his neck.

Ruka stiffened. Hotaru's arms were surprisingly warm. Her scent wasn't of oil or metal (as he had assumed) but of strawberries. Was it her shampoo? It had to be. Her fingers had slipped slightly into his shirt, out of awkward hand placement, and they felt cold compared to the head radiating from his chest (from the fact that his heart was beating in over drive). He reached up and took her hands in his.

"Hotaru..."

Hotaru blinked. He called her 'Hotaru'. Should she be insulted from the lack of honorific? Or should she be happy that he considered her so close...?

Hotaru could feel his chest under her fingers. He was a lot more muscular than she had thought. Little Ruka had been working out. His hands felt warm and they were in the most control of his entire body. Wile his torso shook, his hands were still and calm. Hotaru could smell the warm smell of a mother off of Ruka. This didn't make a whoellot of scene at first. Ruka was a thirteen-year-old boy. But then again... surly he hung out with mother rabbits and other mother animals...

"Ruka... ku..." Hotaru was caught breathless. This was an odd sensation for her. She had never been caught breathless. She felt helpless. Like a damsel in distress. Was this how Kate, in the _Taming of the Shrew_, felt when she fell in love with what's-his-name?

Ruka turned around. He looked Hotaru strait in the eye. Hotaru's mind locked. She didn't know what to do. How could _she_, Mistress Mechanical (in more ways than one), not know what to do? She _always_ knew what to do! She tried to move, but Ruka had her by the hand. He brushed her dark purple hair back, and leaned in slightly...

And then turned away from her.

"Thank you..."

Hotaru blinked. Shock was written all across her face. What was Ruka about to do? He wasn't going to...? He wouldn't dare...? There was NO way! Ruka was Ruka, not some Casanova.

Ruka brushed Natsume's bangs out of his face. Mikan stirred a few beds away. Ruka looked up.

"Mikan-chan's waking up. You should take her back to her dorm, right?"

Those words gave Hotaru her cool back. She slapped Mikan awake and dragged her off...

For the next few days, Hotaru stayed with Ruka in the Hospital Wing, as he awaited his best friend's consciousness. Hotaru held his hand and (when he was really feeling down) kissed his cheeks. The feeling was strange. It was foreign to Hotaru. She had never experienced anything like it before. It intrigued her. It was interesting. Hotaru had become her own test subject.

After Ruka and Hotaru skipping class for three days strait, on the fourth day, Madam Pomfery told them they have to go to class.

"I know you're worried, but you can't give up your schooling just to watch a sleeping boy. He'll be awake in a few days. Please, go to class."

With that, she left them. Ruka brushed Natsume's hair once more. He looked fit to cry. He stood up and leaned against the desk. He closed his eyes, while his body shook. Hotaru suddenly felt something strange. Very strange indeed. And, because Hotaru is the kind of girl who takes what she wants, she gave into her desires.

She kissed Ruka.

On the lips.

Full fledged.

Not some little peck on the lips.

A _REAL_ kiss.

Ruka's eyes shot open. Hotaru Imai's lips were on his own. Her chest was pressed up against his own, and her hands were gripped on his shoulders. Her eyes were closed and he could feel her heart pounding in her chest. It felt... right.

Ruka closed his own eyes and ran his hands up her arms up 'til they rested on her shoulders. He then pulled her even closer. He only gave into his hormones so much, however. Ruka wasn't _that_ kind of boy...

Hotaru licked his bottom lip, and he was about to let her deepen the kiss when...

"OUT!"

Madam Pomfery interrupted them. Hotaru pulled away from him, and glared at the nurse. Ruka, being a good little boy, blushed and bowed to Madam Pomfery many times as he back out of the door. Hotaru glared and walked out with dignity.

But she did smile when Ruka glanced at her in the hall.

The Next Day

Mikan Sakura sat and watch Natsume. For the last few days, Ruka-pyon and Hotaru-chan had been watching him. But now they started going to class again, and someone needed to watch Natsume. Her class could go on without her for three days.

She poked Natsume's forehead. He looked so peaceful when he was asleep... and on drugs. The painkillers were defiantly working. He didn't stir at all except to breath. Mikan felt bad. She felt very bad.

"Natsume no baka..."

"Mi... kan..."

"hun?" Mikan asked, eyes going wide, "Natsume?"

"Mi... kan..." Natsume whispered in his sleep. Natsume always did have a sleep talking problem.

"Me? I'm right here, Natsume."

"Mmmm..." Natsume 'replied'. He really couldn't hear her, and he really couldn't say much of anything. He sank deeper into his sleep once again.

"Natsume?" Mikan asked.

Three days later

Natsume awoke from his very long nap. It was dark. He looked over at the clock. It read 12:00. Of what day, Natsume wasn't sure. So... Midnight...

Natsume sat up, but when he did, he noticed a weight on his bed. Since Natsume couldn't see his hand in front of his face, he couldn't figure out what it was by sight. Natsume knew he may regret this, but he reached out of hand.

What he felt, felt strange. It was soft like silk, and it was stringy like hair...

Or maybe it _was_ hair.

"Ruka?" he whispered. As he ran his fingers through it, though, he realized he guessed wrong. This was defiantly _not_ Ruka. The hair was too long. Narsume decided he would get nowhere by simply touching this person's hair so he moved on. He ran his fingers down the person's back. They wore a cotton robe. That narrowed it down to... everyone besides the teachers. Natsume guessed that his hand was almost all the way down their back, so he moved his hand trying to feel their waist, so he could determine if it was a guy or girl. (As girls have smaller waists than guys.) ... Or a fat person.

'Unfortunately', Natsume had guest his hand placement wrong.

A blush streaked across his face as he felt what a boy really shouldn't feel without a girl's permission. Well... at least now he knew the gender of the girl. Clearly she was sound asleep, because if she was awake, someone would die that night. (And it wouldn't be the girl)

"Mikan?" he whispered hopefully, removing his hand. He leaned over to the bedside table and fumbled for a candle. He lit it with his fire alice (which he uses too often for stupid reasons like this to be good for his health) and brought it over. Sure enough, Mikan Sakura was sound asleep at the foot of his bed. She was sitting in a chair with her head and harms resting on his bed. It was sweet, actually.

"Mikan..." Natsume said, relived. If it was Mikan, it was okay. He didn't care if he accidentally touched her somewhere. He'd done it on purpose too many times to get on her nerves for it to matter. (To him at least.)

"Sorry." He added, scratching his cheek. He could apologize just this once. She couldn't hear him after all...

"Mikan..." he whispered, tears weld up behind his eyes. But his eyes showed no emotion. His eyes will never show emotion. He gave that up a long time ago. He would never _ever_ cry. He leaned down and kissed Mikan's forehead.

"I love you... I just can't tell you until my sister is _safe_."

Morning

"Yaaaaw! Morning world... NATSUME! YOU'RE AWAKE!!"

(Please continue to chapter ten)

Author Note:

I'd like to thank lily rock, eileene, Angelz-Devilz, Lycrea, and Ierinna for reviewing. Some of you are blaming ME for Natsume's woundedness (so not a word), and I'd just like to say I JUST WRITE IT!! Give me a break! I'd never KILL Natsume! Sheesh... Anyway, I also got a request for the RxH... okay, HxR, so I accept the fact that Ruka has pride. Sheesh. You'll find out what happened to Natsume... NEXT CHAPTER!! Muhahahahahahaha!


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter six: Let me get this strait

Chapter ten: Bad Things

Mikan wasn't talking to Hotaru or Ruka. Why? You'll see...

"Mikan?" Ruka asked, "What's with that face? Why won't you talk to me?"

"Humph!" Mikan pouted. Her cheeks were all puffed out and she wouldn't even look at Ruka.

"Mikan-chan!" Ruka plead.

Mikan didn't respond.

"She's just mad, Ruka," Hotaru said, grabbing his hand. Very roughly, if I might add. Hotaru wasn't keen on being gentle.

"About what?" Ruka said blushing.

"She caught us."

"Huh?"

"In the broom closet. Our secret isn't a secret anymore."

"She caught us k-k-k-k-k-k-k-k-k-k-"

"Kissing? Yeah."

"Humph!" Mikan puffed, tightening her grip on her arms. (As they are crossed)

"B-but... you said no one could get in..."

"I lied. It wasn't like we were doing anything wrong_, Mikan._ Who cares if someone came in?"

"I do! Hotaru, I didn't tell Natsume that we're..."

"And I didn't tell Mikan. And _that_ is why she's mad. She's one of those girls who likes to talk about he friend's love-interests and boyfriends. However, she's so selfish, if I asked her about any of hers she'd keep it to herself."

A vein appeared on Mikan's forehead.

"I actually feel sorry for any boyfriend of Mikan's. She's such a mess." Another vein. "She's a sloppy eater." Another. "She can't tie her shoes without looking." Another. "She's a spaz." Another. "And she's gonna break in three... two... one..."

"HOOOOOOOOTAAAAAAAARUUUUUUUUU!"

BAKABAKABAKABAKABAKABAKABAKABAKABAKA!!

Hotaru shot Mikan with her Baka Gun. (You all may be wonder WHY Hotaru's Baka Gun works in Hogwarts, well, it's an alice object and since there's not much difference from an alice object and a magical one, it works.)

"Mikan, if you had a boyfriend, you wouldn't be getting worked up over this."

"Hotaruuuuuu! You meanieeeee!" Mikan yelped, rubbing her head.

"Koi!" Hotaru snapped, "Go to the great hall and get me some pumpkin juice."

"Why me??" Ruka asked. (Note: "Koi means "Boyfriend")

"Because you're my boyfriend!"

"You'd make me do it even if I wasn't, wouldn't you?"

"I'm so glad we understand each other."

Ruka sighed and went to get the girlfriend from Hell her pumpkin juice. Hotaru smiled as he went. (Not much of a boyfriend... more like a slave, really...) Mikan crossed her arms and pouted again.

"I don't care if you don't talk to me for however long you can last. It'll be kinda nice." And with that, Hotaru left Mikan sitting on the ground. All alone.

And defenseless.

"Hi there."

Mikan looked up and saw a blond boy wearing robs with a Slytheren emblem on them. He smiled down at her with... kind of a sick smile.

"Ano... who are you?" she asked. The boy looked familiar.

"My name is Draco Malfoy. _You_ can call me Draco."

"Hello... Draco-kun..."

Malfoy (Draco) kneeled down next to her.

"You know, I didn't like you at first 'cuz you were put in Griffendoor. Slythens and Griffendoors have a long standing tradition of hating each other, but you know... you're kinda cute. Wanna be my girl?"

"Nani?" Mikan asked. (Nani means What)

"You wanna be _friends_?"

"Ano... okay. We can be friends, Draco-kun! I like making new friends!"

"Well... what about friends-with-benefits?"

"Nani? What does that mean?"

"It's just what it sounds like!" Malfoy said, "You know..." He winked. Mikan didn't get it.

"I'm still not sure what that means..."

"It'll be fun. _Trust_ me!"

And Mikan, being the idiot she is, took his hand and let him pull her off the ground. A friendship was born.

And possible a tragedy, too.

Day's later

"Mikan."

Mikan turned around. Natsume was standing behind her looking venomous. She flinched.

"What is it, Natsume?" she asked.

"I heard from some guy named Knox that you've got a..." he gritted his teeth, "..._boyfriend._"

"NANI?? But I don't!"

Natsume grabbed her roughly by the shoulder, "WHO IS IT MIKAN??"

"NATSUME! YOU'RE HURTING ME!"

"Is it Ruka?" Natsume asked, his face a little too close to hers for comfort, "Is it?!"

"N-no! Natsume! Let go!" she pulled away from him. She knew that he must have loosened his grip, or else she wouldn't have been able to do even that.

"You're an ugly girl," Natsume spat. "UGLY!"

"Draco-kun said I look cute! Looser! And Ruka-pyon says I look pretty! And Hotaru says I've got a nice smile! Stupid! You just don't know what's good!"

"UGLY GIRL!"

"PERVERTED BASTARD!"

"BAKA!"

"UZU RATON GAKI!" (moron of morons)

Natsume turned away from her, his heals squeaking against the tiled floors. He walked away from her with dignity. And she stuck her tong at his back with dignity. Everyone around was starring. Mikan rushed away so no one would see her tears. She was a prideful girl, after all.

She had only run so far, when she ran face first into someone, and fell to the ground.

"Itai..." she looked up.

"Everytime I see you, you're on the ground it seems."

"Draco-kun!"

Malfoy smiled at her. It wasn't a kind smile, but a mischievous one.

And Mikan doesn't know the difference.

"Ohayo, Draco-kun."

"Why's the princess crying?"

"Oh... I had a fight with Natsume-kun..." She crossed her arms. "He's a wired JERK! That's what he is! I don't need 'im!"

"Good. 'Cause you've got me!" he pointed to himself, "And my _friend_, I know exactly what'll get you're mind off of this..." He grabbed Mikan's hand and pulled her off the ground and made her follow him.

"What is it?" she asked.

"It'll be loads of fun!" Draco said, "I just hope you're not a screamer, or someone'll catch on."

"I'm not a what?" Mikan asked innocently. She _really_ did not knot what that was.

"Oh... nothing..."

Draco then suddenly pulled Mikan into a secret passageway behind a picture.

"Draco-kun... what is this place?" she asked.

"It's a secret passageway. Filch knows about it, too, but that's a chance we have to take..." he then did something Mikan never expected. He suddenly grabbed her and began unbuttoning her blouse.

"HEY! What're you-?!"

"Shhhhhh... leave everything to me," he said as he placed his hand under her shirt.

"Stop it! Stop it! STOP IT!" but suddenly he silenced her with his lips. He pushed her to the ground and grabbed her roughly by the chest. Mikan tried to kick, to punch and to push him away, but she wasn't very strong. Malfoy was a heck of a lot stronger than her. She tried to scream but it was muffled by his mouth. He tried to force her mouth open for some tong action but she kept her mouth sealed tight. She tried pushing him away but failed. He felt his way down to her jeans. He began trying to undo the button. Because his concentration was divided, Mikan was able to free her mouth.

"HELP! SOMEONE! HELP! NATSUME! _NATSUME!!_"

And Natsume came.

The passageway door swung open with a bang, to revel the Kuro Neko. And he looked fit to kill. And that wasn't an expression. He looked mad when he opened the door. When he saw the seen, he looked like he really _would_ kill Malfoy.

"Natsume!" Mikan yelped, reaching her hand out for him.

Suddenly Malfoy's robs caught fire. BIG fire.

"AAAAAAHHHH!" He jumped off of Mikan and began trying to take off the robe.

"Mikan is _my_ girl!" Natsume yelled, "Keep your _filthy_ paws _off_ her!" Natsume created a fireball in his hand, and threw it at Malfoy. Malfoy ran away from it, by going down the tunnel. Were he'd end up later, wasn't his problem at the moment.

Natsume walked passed Mikan trying to get a good shot at him for another fireball.

"Natsume..." Mikan whispered. He turned around to face her. Tears sparkled in Mikan's eyes. She began to really cry. Natsume's fireball evaporated. He walked up to the crying girl and kneeled down, and made her look him in the eye.

"That bastard's gone now. He can't hurt you..." Natsume said.

Tears glittered in her eyes even more. She buried her face in his muscular chest. He ignored the fact that his body begged him to finish what Malfoy started. All that mattered was that his Mikan was crying, upset, and violated. Even if that bastard didn't get the chance to _really _do anything, he would take care of her, and he would protect her.

"C'mon, Mikan. Let's get you together." He pulled her off his chest and buttoned her shirt up again. He tried to ignore what he was seeing as he did this. The fact that she wasn't yelling and calling him a pervert meant that something was dead wrong. He buttoned the last button and pulled her off the ground. He looked at her at arms length. She looked terrible. Her hair was messed up and her clothes were tattered. She was still silently crying as well. The sight made Natsume's heart hurt. His Mikan... His girl... His princess... His guardian angel... was hurt. It made him want to hold her close, to comfort her.

And that's just what he did.

Natsume started caressing her hair, trying to calm her. The girl's breath evened out every time he ran his fingers though her light brown hair. She gripped his shirt tightly.

a few days later

It was a Sunday. The whole school had been informed (courtesy of Filch) that Draco Malfoy tried to rape a Griffindoor girl by the name of Mikan Sakura. Everyone tried to talk to her on this Sunday day, but she didn't speak back. Actually, she didn't speak at all. The Griffendoors challenged the Slytherens to duels, the Ravenclaws spat on them, and even the spineless Hufflepuffs picked fights with them. Heck, the Slytherens themselves looked down on and treated Malfoy badly.

"That little git!" A Slytheren girl could be heard, "How dare he?! Next time I see him, I'll hex him into his grave!"

But no one was as worried as the Gakuen Alice group. Hotaru tried to spend every waking moment with Mikan. Ruka kept telling her that that Slytheren eyesore was going to pay, and tryed to comfort her. Hotaru and Ruka both tried to make her talk again.

But she wouldn't talk. No. Mikan wouldn't even look anyone in the eye. She would only look at her feet. She didn't even like being touched on the arm. There was one exception to two thirds of these rules.

Natsume Hyuuga.

Natsume was the only one Mikan would look in the eye. He was the only one she'd let hold her hand, hug her, or caress her hair.

But she wouldn't speak. Not a word. She wouldn't even write. Natsume basically translated the looks she'd give him and the way she gripped his arm. No one could understand what she wanted without him being there. To be exact, she didn't leave Natsume's side. She refused. The teachers had to move her seat to the one directly next to Natsume's. She sat next to him in the Great Hall whenever they ate. And she had to sleep in the boys' dormitory because Natsume couldn't go into the girls and they had to share a bed. Going to the bathroom and getting dressed was a hassle, for the mere reason that Natsume had to pry her off his arm, which killed him to do. The teachers gave him and Mikan an 'All around bathroom pass' (which was made up on the spot) because even if Natsume can manage to get loose of the brunette, she wouldn't stray any farther away from him than three feet. Natsume had to help Mikan get dressed, too. In a short wile, he had seen more of Mikan's body than he thought he would in a lifetime. The surprising thing was, he didn't care. All he cared about was that one of these days she would swat his hand away when he tried to help her. All he cared about was that she going to one day call him a pervert for this. All he cared about was that Mikan would go back to her old self.

She had to.

Right now, Mikan was helpless and needed Natsume for everything. And Natsume didn't like that. Yes, he wanted her to need him, but not like this. He wanted her to need him because she wanted him. Not because she was helpless without him.

"Mikan," Natsume said early that morning, giving Mikan a bath, "Won't you talk?"

Mikan shook her head, as Natsume rubbed soap on her back. He cursed when the soap fell into the water and splashed him. He wished Mikan would make a 'the black kitty don't like the water?' joke. To his dismay, Mikan stayed silent. Natsume looked over his shoulder. A bunch of girls in swimsuits were eyeing him suspiciously. (After they heard that a boy had permission to go into their bath, they all started wearing swimsuits to take a bath.) He glared at them.

"You got a problem?"

They all looked away and started their showers and baths. Natsume took a towel to his now wet clothes. He picked up the soap and washed Mikan's arm.

"You know, you can do this yourself..." he said, trying to hand her the soap. But Mikan didn't take it. She just looked at Natsume with pleading eyes. Natsume knew what they ment. "_If I do it myself, you'll leave._" Natsume sighed.

"I'm not going anywhere."

But Mikan still didn't take the soap, so Natsume had no choice but to clean her for her.

"Hello."

Natsume turned around. A girl with long blonde hair and big blue eyes stood behind him.

"Who are you?" Natsume snapped.

"I just came in to use that bathroom, you see. I saw you, and figured... you are Natsume Hyuuga?"

"Who wants to know?" Natsume snapped. He suddenly felt a wet hand on his arm. He looked back to see Mikan looking at him with fearful eyes. "_What's wrong?_"

"Nothing."

"You know, Hyuuga-kun, she just needs reassurance."

"Who are you to tell me that?!" Natsume asked, rounding on the other girl, "I _try_ to give her that!"

"My name is Luna."

Natsume twitched. She shared the name of the biggest bitch in history...

"I know you're telling her words that sound reassuring, but she needs more than that."

This caught Natsume off guard. He blinked. Luna then skipped off. He blinked a few more times. Mikan's hand tightened on his arm.

"I'm sorry, Mikan!" he said, "Here. Let's finish up and get you dressed."

Natsume and Mikan spent the entire day together (which was usual these days) when Natsume got a phone call.

"Hello?"

"_You know who this is." _

"Yes." Natsume said though gritted teeth. He looked over at Mikan who gave him "_Who is it?" _eyes.

"_Black and Z are in Dufftown. I know that unfortunate incident made it so it took all you had to get back to Hogwarts, but we're running out of time. They've already met up. This isn't going well, Natsume! You have to get them, NOW!" _

"I can't," Natsume hissed. "You wouldn't understand."

"_You have to! Or do you want me to hurt precious Aoi?" _

"You can't! I really can't." Natsume said, lowering his voice, when Mikan gave him an alarmed look, "I've got a situation here. I can't go anywhere without taking Mikan."

"_Surely you can shake her." _

"I can... but I won't. She needs me."

"_Does this mean you've fallen in love with her?"_

"Teme!" Natsume hissed, "She needs me. She might hurt herself without me. She can't do anything on her own at the moment. She doesn't trust anyone else. Can't you get another agent on this?"

"_Do you know how long that would take?! England, Natsume! ENGLAND! YOU have to! Now DO it! Natsume-sensei..._"

The phone clicked off. Natsume looked at the phone. It was all over in one little comment... Mikan's grip on his arm tightened. It said "_What's wrong Natsume? Did something happen?_" He sighed. He took her by the elbow and sat her down on a rock. No use hiding anything now.

"I want to be everything another man's not. I'm gonna give you every thing I have, Mikan. 'Cause you are more than _any_ man _needs_. I'll have you know that _my love_ is so _special_. And... even if the day turns into night, I'll love you. And... if it's hard for you to get to sleep, I'll sing you a melody, Mikan. I want to feel this way forever, because I pray for the day that you'll be mine... Mikan," he said, kissing her forehead, "I love you so much. So please, just be okay?"

Mikan stayed silent. Her eyes showed that she was contemplating something. Suddenly, tears welled up in her eyes.

"I'm scared_." _She said, "And now... I know... you're going somewhere, aren't you?"

"I'll probably be back."

"Probably isn't defiantly! Natsume! You promised me you'd never go and leave me behind!"

Natsume wished he hadn't lied to her so long ago right at that moment.

"Natsume..." Mikan said, looking at her nails.

"Mikan..." Natsume said in a voice filled with love.

"Natsume..." Mikan said in a sad voice. But almost by magic (no pun intended), her voice cheered up, "YOU PERVERT! YOU SAW ME NAKED!"

"Hun?" Natsume muttered, raising both eyebrows.

"I'll never forgive you for that! And I'd feel_ really_ guilty if 'I'll never forgive you' is the last thing I ever said to you, so you better come back, Pervert!"

Mikan was back. Good old, annoying, prideful, stupid, cocky, _beautiful_ Mikan. Natsume still wasn't sure what he did, but he was happy. Mikan was Mikan, and always would be. He smiled.

Mikan had stood up with her arms crossed and walked a little ways away from him. Her back was to him as she spoke.

"Thank you... you... I know everything will be alright. Just as long as I have you, Natsume..." Natsume was taken aback by these words. Mikan then turned to him and smiled. "I know I'll be okay! Because you'll be okay! Right, Natsume?"

Natsume blinked. Mikan bit her lip as if deep in thought. Her eyes were glazed over slightly. She blinked and looked at Natsume, as if coming back to reality.

"You'll get your answer when you come back." She said with finality in her voice.

"My answer?" Natsume asked.

"You just confessed your love for me!" Mikan yelled at him, "You think I'd have an answer for that now?! Sheesh!"

"You're... going to..." Natsume said slowly.

"Think about it." she said with dignity.

"About what?" Natsume asked.

"Are you dense?" a cold demonic voice asked, "She's going to think about weather she'll agree to being your girlfriend or not."

Natsume turned around to see Hotaru swimming in the lake with a strange mechanical object in her arms and a scuba snorkel in her mouth. (How the hell could she talk??)

Mikan noticed her best friend.

"HOTARU-CHAAAAAAAAAN!" Mikan ran up to the water, nearly falling in. Hotaru, seeing that Mikan was back to her happy self, simply splashed her with water.

"HOOTAAARUUU!" Mikan complained.

"Hyuuga!" Hotaru snapped. Natsume fought back a wince. That wouldn't have been cool... "You better take good care of her, Baka."

"What are going to do with that terrible machine?" Natsume asked, ignoring her demand.

Hotaru didn't answer. She just dove down into the water. Mikan decided to sit by the lake and wait for Hotaru to resurface. Natsume told her to be careful and that he was going to go back to the dormitory. Mikan told him okay, but Natsume sat there a moment longer. Truth was... he was afraid. What if something bad happened again and he wasn't there? But he had to trust that Mikan would be okay on her own. He _had_ to let her be on her own.

So he left for the dormitory.

(please continue to chapter eleven)

Author Note:

Thank you HinamoriSenna, SakuraBlossom525, xXStarryangelzXx, and sternenhagel for reviewing. A _special _ thanks for xXStarryangelzXx for giving me the idea of having Draco try to get Mikan to be his. I kinda fiddled with the idea and my mind went into strange places... eh-he! I'm sorry bad things almost happened! It really wasn't my intention to do that it just sort of took on its own life here. But I promise! This is the only chapter that'll go so far up on the T scale. It won't get so close to A again! Sumimasen! Eh-hem! Let's see what happens next, okay? I'll be introducing Sirius and Yuka (AKA, Z) in the next chapter. Please review!


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter six: Let me get this strait

Chapter ten: Mother's Eyes

"What's going on here?" Natsume asked as the line to the dormitory was backed up.

"That Fat Lady!" a little girl he had come to know as Ginny Wesley said, "She's _gone_!"

Natsume's eyes went wide and he pushed past her and a bunch of students to get a better look. The tapestry that the ugly painting was painted in was slashed to pieces. The Fat Lady herself wasn't in it. Natsume looked down and saw something that made his heart skip a beat. A lock of brown hair. Short. Brown. Almost insignificant.

Except it looked almost exactly like his brunette's hair.

"Yuka..."

"What is going...?" the teachers had noticed something was wrong. They appeared at the scene without anyone really noticing. That did not sound good in Natsume's mind. Then, a man he had not seen since he arrived at Hogwarts showed up. Dumbledor.

"We will _search_ for the Fat Lady! And try to _restore _her! Ah...! Dear Natsume, where is Miss Mikan?"

"The lake." Natsume muttered.

Dumbledor blinked once but seemed to think this was good news to some extent.

"Until we can get a replacement for the Fat Lady! We will have to have you all sleep in the Great Hall! Now, if you please...?"

The kids filed out. There was a fearful whisper going around. There was one person on everyone's mind... Sirius Black.

But there were two on Natsume's mind... no... three. Sirius Black, Yuka, and, of course, _his_ girl. Natsume would _not_ go to the Great Hall first. He didn't care if the prefects yelled at him. He went strait for the lake, even though all the students were being rounded up anyway.

"HEY!" Percy yelled, "HYUUGA!"

"I can take care of myself!" he yelled back venomously. If Yuka was here, there was only one person she'd be after and it wasn't Harry Potter.

"MIKAN!" he yelled, actually a long way from her. She had been getting all flustered over something Hotaru had said. They both looked over at him.

"What do you want, Hyuuga?" Hotaru asked.

But he just grabbed Mikan by the hand and gestured to Hotaru to follow. Mikan blushed.

"N-Natsume!"

"No time to explain!" he souted. Hotaru sensed that he had switched into Kuro Neko mode. He was all business. Completely serious. He wasn't thinking about getting lucky or even having a little bit of alone time. He was afraid. He was in his natural fight or flight or protect instincts. (As was natural for Natsume.) He pulled Mikan into the castle.

"What, Natsume?" Mikan asked, "Is it going to rain?"

Natsume didn't answer. Boy, was Mikan dense. Hotaru got the message the moment he grabbed Mikan by the hand. She ran alongside them in her pink swimsuit and pink swim cap. Mikan was wet, too. Natsume griped Hotaru by the shoulder suddenly.

"Imai, your head of house will be worried. You need to go to the Ravenclaw dormitory."

"Care to tell me what's going on?"

Natsume didn't answer. No.

Hotaru ran for the dormitory and Natsume pulled Mikan to the Great Hall. He burst open the door, making LOTS of kids jump. Percy looked ready to have a heart attack.

"Hyuuga!" then he noticed Mikan, "Oh..."

"Eh-hem!" Percy said, not looking her in the eye, "Pick a purple palate and go to sleep!"

"Ano... Natsume-kun? What's going on?"

The room gasped when Mikan spoke. She tried to make Natsume let go of her hand, too. Natsume roughly let go.

"Natsume-kun! Answer me!"

"Ask Orange Top." He said shoving his hand in his pockets and placing himself right by the window.

Percy filled Mikan in on the situation, not feeling very comfortable doing so. Natsume watched the grounds like a hawk. He saw something in the shadows of the trees. A person... and a dog. Natsume tried to figure out what that was. Maybe Fang and a teacher?

Buy Natsume noticed something. The eyes of the person in the trees were suddenly visible as the tree branches shifted. Only the eyes, but that was enough.

Cold eyes stared back at him. Venomous eyes. Dangerous eyes. They resembled eyes that could never make themselves full of such hate, such despise, not even to her worst enemy.

These eyes belonged to none other than Mikan Sakura's mother.

To Yuka.

He watched her eyes for a moment. He could read Mikan's eyes, but Yuka wasn't Mikan. What was she trying to say to him? Natsume concentrated on Yuka's eyes. Feelings that didn't belong to him bubbled up inside. Hatred. Worry. Jealousy. Want. Need...

"What are you staring at, Hyuuga?" asked the cold demonic voice of Severous Snape. And just like that, Yuka was gone.

"Nothing." He said, in a cold, uncaring voice. Sudenly, he got a phone call.

"Konbanwa, Persona." (Konbanwa is Good Night)

"_Yuka and Black are-_"

"At Hogwarts. Yeah."

"_Natsume-sensei," _Persona said, emphasizing the fact that he knew that Natsume loved Mikan, "_You have to take this chance! They can't escape!" _

"I'm a child, Persona. Just because you'd let me out of the safe hold of the school when a killer and a crazy woman are on the loose doesn't mean these people will." And with that, he hung up on Persona. He looked back at the trees were Yuka had been. _She's not crazy,_ Natsume thought, _She's a mother whose child is just beyond her grasp. But I can't let her take Mikan away. I can't let her make Mikan my enemy. I might kill myself if that happened. _

"Ne, Natsume!" Mikan said, grabbing his shirt sleeve. "I... I'm scared!"

Natsume looked at her. She was holding his arm so tightly. Her eyes were afraid in a simple way. Simple Mikan. Yup, she was defiantly back.

Natsume could once again feel Yuka's eyes. When he looked to the trees, he couldn't see her, but he knew she was there. He grabbed Mikan by the shoulders, and kissed her cheek. Mikan blushed.

"N-Natsume! I haven't decided yet!"

"Don't go near the windows." Was all he had to say. He could feel more hatred in Yuka's eyes than ever before. She was pissed. What could he say? He was the type of guy to mess with his enemy when they can't touch him. And sneaking a kiss from Mikan was even better.

Mikan laid down far away from Natsume, and away from the windows. Natsume placed himself next to some kid named Nevel Longbottom.

Natsume drifted off into a deep sleep after a moment. He liked knowing that other people were going to be protecting him this time. It was nice.

Very nice.

(please continue to chapter eleven)

Author Note:

I'm glad everyone liked the fact that Natsume tried to turn Malfoy into Roast Beef! I felt awkward writing that stuff, even though it just seemed to come off the keypad so easily. Hun-nya... (not a Japanese word, it's just something I say. Kind of like "Hoe" in Cardcaptor Sakura or "Ryu!" in Mamotte! Lolipop) No one new reviewed, but I do appreciate the reviews I got. I like it when people like my story enough to review it for each chapter or almost each chapter. Mikan's dense, eh? Review! All ideas will be taken into consideration, but I might play with the idea a bit.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter six: Let me get this strait

Chapter eleven: Shmuck-ish Angel

The Fat Lady refused to come back to her frame. Instead, they put a wired-o named Sir Catagon(sp?).

"STAND AND FIGHT!"

"Go away, you freak show." Natsume said, grumpily.

"Ready, Natsume?" Ruka asked, "This guy's been yelling at me for the past twenty minutes."

"Why were standing there for twenty minutes?"

"Well... you know... you're standing in for what's-his-name in the Quidage game today."

"Yeah..."

"Do you even know how to play?"

"No."

"Then why...?"

"Using a flying object, I can get a good view of that forest."

"The Forbidden one?"

"Yup."

"But won't the broom, you know, _hurt_ your...?"

"I hope not..."

"KOI!"

Ruka flinched. He had to tell Natsume now. Damn you, Hotaru...!

"Koi?" Natsume asked.

"Hello... Hotaru-chan..."

"-chan...?" Natsume muttered.

"Koi...! He's playing Hufflepuff!" Hotaru said, grabbing him by the arm, "Shouldn't you be supporting the Hufflepuffs?"

"Nah! Hufflepuff are very understanding! Natsume-kun's my best friend. Of course I'll be supporting him!"

"And if I was playing Natsume?"

"Um..."

"Ichuunoona?!" Natsume yelled. (Ichuunoona is girlfriend... don't ask!)

"Well... umm..." Ruka said, pressing his fingers together, Hinata-style.

He glared at Hotaru. "Ugly!"

"Baka."

"Ugly! Ugly! Very ugly girl!"

"Natsume!"

"Baka, baka, mucho stupido..." (Spanish??)

"Ta Gueule!" (Russian??)

"Vous, soyez traquille." (French??)

(Note: these are all insults and rude fazes. Do not try them at home.)

"STOOOOOOOOOOP!!"

They both looked over at Ruka. Ruka panted. He composed himself.

"Natsume, I'm seeing Hotaru."

"I'm his girlfriend."

Ruka looked at her. He blinked. His face turned as red as a cherry, and he looked away from her.

"G-g-g-girl... friend..." Natsume blinked.

"Yes." Hotaru said, glaring at him.

"How LONG!?"

"Since you were hospitalized."

"Ah...!" Natsume twitched.

"Natsume..." Ruka muttered.

"Forget it! I'll see you at the match!"

Natsume walked off. He had pride.

Ruka slumped against the wall.

"Hotaru..."

"Yes?" she said with her arms crossed.

"Are you... what did you... did you only say that to annoy Natsume? I mean... do you really... like me... or are you just using me? ...damn, it's just... so hard to tell, with you!"

Hotaru blinked. "Why would I waste my time doing that?"

"Doing... what?"

"Messing with you. You've been my personal little slave since Mikan made us really meet."

"I... _have_?" Ruka asked, twitching.

"You're my boyfriend." She said with finality, "And I'm..."

Hotaru seemed to be struggling between two instincts. Ruka blinked.

"I'm... your..." she said through gritted teeth, "Your..."

"I love you!"

Hotaru looked at Ruka, shocked. Ruka had made a bold move. That wasn't normal. She didn't blink. She didn't take her eyes off of Ruka's blue... bold... eyes...

"I love you... and I don't understand it myself. You're selfish and I feel like I'm being used, but I can't help but to love you. I never thought you'd ever say you were my girl. Because I never thought you'd give yourself to anyone. You've always been such a free person... I want you to be happy, and free. It's all your choice... Hotaru..." he said, looking her with deep eyes, "Are you my girl?"

Hotaru stared at him. She crossed her arms without looking away or changing her expression. She seemed to think for a moment.

"Yeah," she said, her expression changing to her usual demonic one, "I'm your girlfriend. You're my boyfriend, and _you'll_ be going steady! There's no one else for me, so I guess I'll go steady too..."

And for Hotaru, that meant 'I love you. I want to marry you someday.' Ruka sighed.

"Yay..." he said dully, kissing her. His girl made him tiered and frustrated but... he loved that about her.

Later

"Harry!" Wood called through the rain. "Find the snitch!"

"Hyuuga!" Wood called, "Stop spacing out! You said you can play! So use your club to protect the other players!"

Natsume looked at the club in his hand and tossed it at Woods head.

"HYUUGA!" Wood yelled, throwing it back. "YOU DON'T HIT TEAM MEMBERS!"

(Fred in the meantime was laughing his ass off)

Harry had caught sight of the snitch. Natsume had caught sight of a black dog. Natsume thought it was wired for a dog to be in the stands. He sped up higher to get a better view without Wood noticing he was watching a dog instead of the game. He was up in the air with Harry. Wood seemed to think this was a good idea.

"Good, Hyuuga! If a bludger comes Harry's way, get rid of it!"

Natsume ignored his request. The dog looked familiar...

Suddenly, everything went cold. Natsume looked around. Strange black hooded creatures were all around. Suddenly, Natsume felt terrible. Images flashed through his mind.

"_Fire!" _

"_GYA!!" _

"_Aoi! Aoi!" little Natsume was running, looking for his sister in the fire. Natsume was trying to control the fire, but couldn't. He didn't create it._

"_AOI!!" _

FLASH!

"_I hear he's a murderer!" _

"_Oh no! I'm scared!" _

"_He's got the fire alice. Burned down his entire village. Injured his own father..." _

'_It wasn't me...' Natsume thought, 'No... if I tell them that... Aoi will...' _

FLASH

_VERY little Natsume was crying in his father's arms. _

"_Why Mama have die? Why? Why? Why Aoi? Why'd she do it?" _

"_You're baby sister didn't kill your mother; you mother gave everything she had for your sister. Protect Aoi with your life like you did Mama?" _

"_Y-yes, Papa! I promise!" _

FLASH

"_I WANT MY SISTER! GIVE HER TO ME! WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO HER?! WHERE IS SHE?! AOI! AOI!!" _

FLASH

"_Natsume! Why? Why does it have to be Natsume?" Ruka asked a bleeding, just-turned-9-years-old Natsume. _

"_I want to become stronger... so I can protect you... Ruka..." _

FLASH

"_GYAAAA!" Mikan screamed as the ground beneath her collapse. _

"_MIKAAAAAN!" screamed the ten-year-old Natsum, lunging for her hand as she fell. _

"_Nat-!"_

FLASH

"_So Ruka's the one you like? Not Natsume?" Koko asked Mikan. _

"_Yes..."_

"_WAIT! NO! That's not what I meant!" _

FLASH

"_Father... has been trying to write me?" Natsume asked. _

"_Natsume?" _

FLASH

"_ANIKI!! HELP ME!!" _

"_AOI!!" _

FLASH

"_Mi... kan...?" ten-year-old Natsume awoke in an abandoned warehouse to find him, Permy, and Mikan Sakura tied up. _

"_Oh... Permy, Permy! It's Natsume! He's awake!" _

_Mikan was in trouble... because why? _

"_Why... are you here?" _

"_We saw you being kidnapped and we followed!" she whispered, "But... well..." _

_She was here... because he was in trouble? What kind of girl was this? Was someone... going to... get hurt because of him? _

FLASH

"_NASTUME!" _

"_Out of the way, little girl!" _

_Natsume opened his eyes to see Mikan getting thrown to the ground. _

"_You... BASTARDS!" _

End flash backs.

Natsume awoke to find himself in the hospital wing. People were staring down at him, and he saw that he and Potter were in bed. Harry was holding twigs. Why? Who cares?

Natsume sat up.

"Hyuuga-kun!"

"Those dementos were WAY out of line!"

"Dumbledor was furious!"

"Wood's trying to drown himself in the shower..."

"We lost..."

"You fell over a hundred feet!"

Natsume looked over and saw Mikan looking very worried. He patted her head. Ruka came to his side, too.

"Natsume..."

"Save it. If you want to have a girlfriend, it's okay..."

"R... Really?"

"Yes. Imai better treat you right."

Ruka smiled as Natsume pulled him into a hug. Mikan smiled. The two boys cuddled like brothers. It was so sweet. Natsume was a great older brother, but sometimes he needed to be someone's twin. Everyone needs that sometimes. Very few can have the real thing, but that's were friends come in.

Natsume looked over and saw Hotaru in the corner of the room looking at them. He pushed Ruka off him (as if he wasn't the one who started the hug) and tried to get out of bed.

"No!" Madam Pomfery yelled, "You need rest!"

"Beat it, Lady." Natsume snapped. He walked over to Hotaru, who stiffened. He pulled her into a non-emotional hug. (Ever had one of those? Those kinds of hugs you give to people you're supposedly related to but never met before because your parents told you to? The awkward "OMG I can't believe I'm hugging/being-hugged-by this person!" kind of hug. That one.) Hotaru blinked and didn't hug back. (Ever had that happen, either? I have... bleh!)

"Treat him right, or I'll burn your ass off." He threatened in her ear. Now Hotaru simply bordly pushed him away, with a "Meh" but inside she knew she better do what he said. No one went against Natsume except Mikan Sakura.

"NATSUME!" Mikan yelled, happily. (Speak of the devil...) "Ne ne! Natsume! I think you've _really_ hurt your head..." Mikan kidded. Natsume hit her head.

"Itai!" she complained, holding her head with her hands. Natsume smiled at her.

Later

Natsume was thinking carefully. Yuka (Z) and Black were at Hogwarts. That was good in a way. He didn't have to try to leave. Like the unfortunate incident of earlier. The Quiddige Match wasn't the first time he'd been caught by a 'dementor'.

_Natsume had tried to sneak out of the castle. Unfortunately, he didn't get very far. Suddenly, everything all so much colder. Natsume lit a fire for himself in his palm, but suddenly another thing happened. _

_A great, big, black, hooded... THING appeared out of nowhere. Natsume was caught off guard, and stumbled backwards. The creature swooped down on him and began... what Natsume could only describe as sucking the happiness away from him by sucking the air. (If that made since) Natsume was having fleeting memories of his past life. Of bed memories. Ones of the fire of his village. Ones of Persona. Ones of his brunette. Ones of Tsubasa's disappearance..._

_Natsume was able to conjure up enough energy to make a fire ball and threw it at the creature. The creature screamed in pain. But from the lack of energy Natsume had from the attack in the first place, that little fireball took up a lot of energy. But even so, he ran for it. Back into the castle was safest. He could feel blood spittle making its way to his mouth. He covered it with his hand, but the blood accumulating in his mouth was getting greater with every step. Surly, this school had a nurse, right? All school's had a nurse. Unfortunately, Natsume didn't know where the nurses' office was. That was a problem._

_Natsume couldn't run anymore. He began to walk, but didn't get very far. Natsume leaned against the wall. He felt the hot blood bubble up to his mouth again. It was almost like a fountain of blood inside him. His mouth was the bowl the water (or in this case, blood) fell into, and the fountain was his throat. Natsume was drained. What was that creature that made such a little fireball do so much damage on Natsume's system? Normally, he didn't start spitting up blood unless he used his alice about five more times in a big-ish way. Natsume cringed as is insides burned in pain. _

"_Hey, Natsume!" he heard that boy... Ron Weasly, wasn't it? called, "Been kissing girls again?" _

_That was good, Natsume thought. He thought he was perfectly fine. Natsume didn't bother to look up. If Ron even detected that something was wrong, he would tell someone. This was just another episode. It was nothing. Natsume just had to ride it out... _

"_Natsume, you don't look too good," said the voice of Harry Potter. _

_Natsume looked up. Ron wasn't alone. Ron, Harry, Imai... _

_And Mikan. _

_Terror filled Natsume's eyes. Mikan looked worried. If she knew something was wrong... If she knew what Natsume had been doing to his body every time he used his alice... If she knew, If she knew... _

_She couldn't know. _

_Natsume took a step forward. _

"_Natsume..." Mikan muttered. _

_Natsume removed his hand, thinking he could hold back the blood for just a second to tell her 'Don't be an idiot. I'm fine.' but the blood had other plans. It dripped out of his mouth. The blood had a new space to fill and began rushing out of his throat again. Natsume felt the full extent of the damage done to his body in that instant. Everything hurt. Everything bled. His legs gave into the pain and he collapsed. _

"_NATSUME!" _

_He wasn't sure exactly when he blacked out. Whenever it was, it wasn't soon enough. He felt a sharp pain in the side of his head and the black out took full affect. _

Natsume crossed his arms. Natsume had already contacted Persona about this, and Persona seemed pleased with the fact that Natsume was in the right place already. Natsume wasn't so pleased. Black, he was told, wanted to kill Harry Potter. But what did Yuka want? Mikan? If so, for what reason? Did she want her for AAO? Or did she really give a damn about Mikan? Or _maybe_ she didn't want Mikan at all. _Maybe_ she was smitten for Black and wanted to get on his good side by helping him kill Harry Potter. Or maybe... Or maybe...

Natsume hit his head on the tree next to him. His ideas were getting stupider by the second. He decided to just... stop thinking.

"NAAAATSUUUUMEEEEE-KUUUUUUN!"

Natsume turned around to see Mikan running up to him, waving. Natsume glared at her.

"What, Polka?"

"Just thought I'd say 'Hi'!" she said defensively. She crossed her own arms.

"Oh reeeeeeally? Shouldn't you be thinking about my answer instead of bugging me?"

"Answer? What are you-?" but then Mikan remembered. Natsume had confessed his love for her. She told him she'd give him an answer, but she really didn't know what that was.

"I... I'm still thinking!" she said, blushing, "I mean, we're friends and all, but you're also a jerk!"

"Then why are we friends?" Natsume asked, raising an eyebrow. Mikan blinked. Why _were_ they friends? Natsume was mean, perverted, jerk-ish, and a complete Casanova... but was that actually what she _liked_ about him? Mikan began to wonder. Natsume have a very playboy-ish image. He was famous in the female race.

But Natsume wasn't just that. He was a good person. Even if it didn't always (usually) show. Everything he does... he does for what? Not for the sake of pride or his image. He once gave up that to protect Mikan. It's not for fun. Well, maybe some of it's for fun, but it doesn't seem to make him happy most of the time. In fact, sometimes he seemed down right depressed after doing terrible things. Especially if he did something to Ruka or Mikan. And it wasn't to please Persona. He would disobey Persona to protect other people, like Mikan. And it wasn't...

Mikan stopped thinking. Something clicked in her brain. Everything Natsume did, he did for... Mikan.

"Natsume! I-!" she began, realizing the obvious choice. But Natsume was gone.

He left wile she was thinking.

"Th-th-that little-!" she started. But then, she smiled. "That little shmuck-ish angel!"

(please continue to chapter twelve)

Author Note:

Sorry for taking so long. Eheh... This is a special segment I like to call, Kitten's Dictionary! **"Shmuck" – a jerk.** This concludes this segment of Kitten's Dictionary! Lemme see... I thank Nadeshiko968, Blizzel, and Music of the heart for reviewing!

a href"s199./albums/aa5/mitsuki312/?actionview¤t219721.jpg;" target"blank"img src"i199./albums/aa5/mitsuki312/219721.jpg" border"0" alt"mikan natsume hotaru"/a


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter six: Let me get this strait

Chapter twelve (or maybe this is chapter thirteen... I don't know anymore!): Tainted Blood

Natsume was going down to the hut of the teacher Rubies Hagrid. He didn't actually _care_ about said teacher, but he wanted to feed his hippogriff. Buckbeak was the best animal in the world in Natsume's opinion. He beat the snot out of Draco Malfoy.

But Buckbeak wasn't there. Natsume looked around the hut, but all there was were woods. So Natsume knocked on Hugrid's back door.

"Y-yes?" asked a sniffling voice on the other end.

"Sensei, it's Natsume Hyuga."

The door creaked open. Hagrid Sensei looked awful. He was crying and everything.

Natsume hated crying.

He tried to shut the door, but Hagrid held it open from the inside.

"Th-th-thank yeh, Hyuga... erm... –kun. 'Ow 'bout yeh? 'thing alright?"

"I should be asking you that..." Natsume said grimacing. Hagrid blew hit nose on a pink handkerchief. Natsume recoiled. Didn't this guy know that blowing your nose was bad manners?

"Ew..." Natsume muttered.

"'Mon in. I jus'... I'm okay. Really. Take a seat."

Natsume did as he was told, but he didn't like it. Hagrid blew his nose again and Natsume recoiled once more.

"Stop that."

"Sorry..." Hagrid said all blubbery. Natsume crossed his arms.

"Why are you crying?" Natsume asked dully.

"Oh... 's'just... you know..." then Hagrid completely broke down, "Thay'z gonna kill Buckbeak!"

"_What?!_" Natsume asked.

"Luscious... he... he...!" and Hagrid blew his nose again.

"But I _liked_ that thing!" Natsume said, with complete disregard for Hagrid's feelings. (As he was saying "He's not an _it_!") "It beat up that pervert who touched _my_ Mikan! How can they kill it!"

"'At's wha' I said to 'em! I said '_If you kill 'em fer scratchin' a boy, an' you don' lock up Draco Malfoy fer what 'e tried ter do to dat poor girl, you've's got a double standard! An' tha's not constitutional!'_ But then Malfoy 'ad 'is say, and nobody goes against the Malfoy family, you see..."

"Meh..." Natsume said, getting his cool back. "I really don't care about that whole no-body-messes-with-this-family crap. I'll mess with who I want to mess with. If I even _see_ that pervert again, I'll burn his ass off."

_Hum... _Natsume thought, _It seams like I've said that to someone else..._ (Note: Hotaru.)

"There's gonna be a appeal." Hagrid continued, "'Arry, an' Ron, an' Hermione are gonna try ter help, but they've got studyin' ter do, an' I really don' think there's any way we can win..."

"There's always option three."

"What's tha'?" Hagrid said, starting to cry again.

"Burn Hentai-Boy's ass off."

"My _my!_" Hagrid said, blowing his nose. (Natsume recoiled.) "What is it with yeh an' burning things, Mr. Pyro?"

Natsume ignored him. Hagrid got up and got something out of a cupboard. Natsume looked around and realized that this was the only room in the hut.

"I calm meself down wit' some music," Hagrid said, handing a flute to Natsume, "Bu' I can' play it wile I'm cryin'. Can yeh...?"

"No," Natsume said, glaring at the flute, "I really can't. No."

"Please!" Hagrid said, trying to shove the flute into Natsume's hand.

"No. No. No. You don't want me to. Stop it."

"Oh, C'mon! Help a guy out! I'll 'elp you wit' anythin' you want if yeh play me one song."

Natsume glared at him, but there was something he wanted. He took the floot and put it to his mouth.

A horrible screeching noise erupted from the flute. It was terrible, even as he changed notes. It sounded like a flock of angry birds in pain. It took Hagrid a long time to figure out he was playing 'Amassing Grace'.

Natsume stopped playing. He looked up at Hagrid with an I-Told-You expression on his face. Hagrid blinked. The song certainly made him stop crying, but probably mostly from shock.

Natsume tossed the flute on the table. He knew it was pointless. He was musically challenged. It didn't matter what instrument he played, he was terrible. It was a curse Natsume had, but didn't really give a damn about. He accepted his "disability".

"Now I want something," he said, "What are all the exits in and out of the castle?"

"Why would you want to know that?" Hagrid asked.

"Don't ask questions."

"Well..." Hagrid said, "I wouldn't know. Ask Fred and George Wesley."

"Okay."

Natsume left without saying good bye. He walked all the way back up to the castle. He grabbed a fist year by the shoulder, making him jump.

"Nya!" the kid squeaked in surprise, turning to face him.

"Were can I find Fred and George Wesley?"

"D-dunno!"

Natsume released the boy. Next, he startled a second year girl. Then he asked a fifth year, who was too busy studying to answer. After that he asked a group of Slytheren girls who just giggled at him (He burned them). It wasn't until he asked a Griffendor forth year that he got an answer.

"Well, I suppose I know 'em. After all, I'm Fred Wesley."

Natsume twitched from Fred's cheeky remark. Fred found it too funny. His twin laughed right along with him.

"What can we do fer you?" George asked.

"I need to know all the exits out of the castle."

They blinked.

"Why?" they asked at the same time.

"Does it matter?"

They grinned. "Nope!"

Fred filled him in on every secret exit out of the castle. The ones that were blocked. The ones Filch knew about. And the ones that nobody but the twins, Harry Potter, and the legendary Marauders knew about.

"Can two people take these passages?"

"Yup!"

"A grown man and a grown woman?"

"Are you suggesting a secret hideaway for Filch and Madam Pince?"

"_What_?"

"Nothing."

"Can a _man_ and a _woman_-"

"Yes."

"Thank you."

"Is that all?"

"One more thing."

"What?"

"Are dogs common to see around Hogwarts?"

"_Dogs_?" Fred laughed.

"Depends what you mean by 'dog'," George continued.

"The animal."

"Define 'anim-" but Natsume jabbed him in the stomach.

"Okay, okay! Not really. The furry ones aren't one of the designated pets you can have. You can have an owl, a cat, or a toad. Scabbers is an exception because he's so little, but a dog..."

"Thank you."

Natsume began walking away. He could hear George asking Fred why Filch and Madam Pince would...

Natsume shivered.

Weeks later

"We won! We won!" could be heard in the Griffindoor common room.

"Way to go, Harry!"

"PARTYYYYYYY!"

"Wooooooh!"

Mikan said in the corner. He was playing chess with Hotaru. They weren't too into Quidditch. Mikan played right into Hotaru's hands as her Queen was taken by Hotaru's Pawn.

"Total. Pwn-age." Hotaru said, as her little pawn killed Mikan's queen.

"Uwaaaaa!" Mikan complained.

"Sorry about that, Mikan-chan," Ruka said, sweat dropping.

"_Hey_," Hotaru said, poking him in the forehead, "You're _my_ cheerleader. Cheer."

"Hey! Sakura-san!" some Griffindoor girl said tossing a piece of paper in front of her. "I'm doing a potation against Wizard Chess. It's barbaric! Please sign?"

And because Mikan signs every potation put in front of her (she's a sucker), she signed. Hotaru watched her.

"Mikan," she said, "Messy brush strokes indicate a messy mind."

"It's a quill," Mikan said, defensively.

"Same difference."

"Just thinking about something."

"Your answer for Natsume?"

Mikan blushed.

"Answer? Natsume? What are you two talking about?" Ruka asked.

"Go away."

Ruka stuck his tong out at his girlfriend. He ran off to hang out with some Griffendoor boys.

"What are you doing here, Hufflepuff?" one of them asked.

"Natsume invited me."

"Hotaru..." Mikan said, "Why _are_ you here?"

"Natsume told Ruka the password, and I made Ruka take me."

Mikan wondered what she meant by 'make' but decided to ignore it.

Later that night, after Hotaru and Ruka went to their own dormitories, and everyone had already gone to bed, a sickening shriek sounded. Mikan sat up with a start. Hermione Granger, Pavarti Patil, Amilda Vane, and Ran Gil were all sitting upright in bed too. They all looked just as frightened as Mikan felt.

"What was that?" Pavarti asked.

"It was a scream... A boy..." Ran whispered.

"I'm scared..." Amilda said.

"That was..." Hermione started, "RON!"

Hermione leaped out of bed. Amilda followed second. Then Mikan. Pavarti and Ran stayed in bed, too scared to move.

They got out into the common room. The other kids had accumulated out there, too.

"Is the party back on?" one on them asked.

"Sirius Black!" Ron was saying.

Mikan spotted Natsume staring at the common room door. She wasn't sure why until she took a closer look. Spello-tapped to the door, was a note. In blood red letters, it read:

**I WaNT mY DauGhTEr. SHE's MinE and I LoVE heR. YoU canT hAvE HeR. AAO WanTs hEr and I WAnT hER. HoW loNG dO yOU pLAn on PlAYinG thIs gAme, bOY? I'll tAkE her by fORcE iF I MuST.**

Natsume looked shaken. Mikan wondered why. Yes, the note was terrible and frightening. But why should Natsume care?

"Now REALLY!" Professor McGonalal said, entering the dormitory. "I'm JUST as happy about Griffendoor's victory, but REALLY! The fun must STOP!"

"Sirius Black! Standing over me! With a knife!" Ron said, fumbling with his words.

"All this over a _nightmare_?"

"No! It was real! Ask _him!_" he said, pointing to Sir Catagon.

"Sir Catagon!" McGonagal said sternly, "Did you let a man into this dormitory just now?"

"Yes, Ma'am!"

McGonagal looked taken aback.

"Y-you did?"

"Yes, Ma'am!"

"What about the password?"

"He had 'em! A whole list of 'em!"

McGonagal turned back to the students with a horrified look on her face. "Who left the a list of passwords lying around?"

"Oh crap!" Neville said.

"Sensei," Natsume said, "Look at this."

He pointed to the note on the door. McGonagal looked flabbergasted.

"Wha-? What is Black playing at? He never had children..."

"It's not Black who wrote this note. In the Alice community, there is a woman on the loose. It was her who wrote this note. She's teamed up with Black."

McGonagal looked at the note closely.

"Yes! Yes!" Sir Catagon nodded, oblivious of the situation, "He had a woman with him, too. Really pretty lady. Had short, light brown hair..."

"Yeah... that's her alright."

"Z?" Mikan whispered. She was afraid. That evil woman was near her friends. But who was her daughter?

(Please continue to chapter... 14?)

Author Note:

Thnx Blizzel, candygirl101, lily rock, and kbrand for reviewing, and a SUPER SPECIAL ASWSOME THANKS TO MISHA12 FOR THE MANY FIC-LOVE REVEIWS! I'm working really hard on this fic, and I love it when people appreciate it. Tankx a million! In case you haven't noticed (many of you probably haven't or just didn't care) I made up a character. Ran Gil doesn't exist. She's just a random name I thought up based on Random Girl. Cool, no? Right... no...

Nya Nya!


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter six: Let me get this strait

Chapter fourteen: Meh...

Back Gakuen Alice. Four wizards were having trouble dealing with their lives in Gakuen Alice. Alices didn't except non-alices very well...

"You!" one boy said to Goyal, "Take my bag to study hall!" He flung his bag at Goyal's head. It hit its target.

"Umph!" Goyal said, rubbing his head.

"Gregory!" Pansy squealed.

"And you!" Sumire said, poking Pansy in the chest, "Stay out of my way already! Sheesh! You're such a cow..."

"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME??"

"You know... a-"

"Don't repeat it, you filthy-mouthed Muggle! You're dirt on my shoes!"

"(due to the contents of what Sumire has said, I am keeping it from my readers.)!!"

"YOU LITTLE-!"

"Now, now, Sumire!" Koko said, appearing right beside her, "This isn't the time for arguments. We've got to get to Jinno-sensei's class."

Koko took Sumire by the hand and pulled her away from the Slytheren girl. Sumire blushed at Koko's touch. The mind reader smiled.

"You make my heart face, too."

"KOKO! WHO GAVE YOU PERMISION TO READ MY MIND?? HUH??" Sumire asked, blushing even more. Koko laughed.

Meanwhile, Cho Chang was having a better time getting along with Nonako and Anna.

"You see, this is _my_ Alice," Anna was saying, "I can make really wired foods."

"How is that special?" Cho asked, "My Auntie can wired foods. Me Mum's a much better cook..."

"No, silly!" Anna said, laughing, "I can make it... er... for lack of a better word... magical. I can make ghoul-lash. And Talking-Taffy. And Pumpkins with real faces, those are really popular around Halloween time!"

"And my ability is _Chemistry_. I can do anything with chemicals."

"Doesn't that just make you smart?"

"It's not just smarts," Nonako said, sounding a bit hurt, "It's my Alice. It's different... you wouldn't understand..."

"You know, Anna, making food is kinda a wired ability. Who wants talking food?"

"But my Oka-san (mother) says it... cute..." Anna said blushing, tears welding up in her eyes.

And wile Cho is making people cry...

"AndthenmemumsentmetoHogwartsandImetHarryPotterandtheresto'themandwehadarightlaughandallandImetDeantherehe'smybestfriendyouknow?Andweallhadagreattimemagicisdifferentfromyouralicesbecausewecandomorethatjustonespecialthingwe'regrouptoothoughlikewithyouguysand'somatic''latient''technical'and'special'butwe'vegothousesandthey're'griffendoor'it'sthebest'hufflepuff'theyrthegoodiegoodies'ravenclaw'thesmartiesandthemwe'vegottheassholesthe'slytherens'it'sreallycoolatHogwartsIwishyoucouldseeitdudethat'dbeawsome!"

Seamus was talking his head off to Natsume's gang. They listened intently.

"He sure talks a lot..." levitation boy commented.

(And now let's all go back to the REAL story. That was just something I felt like writing.)

Back Hogwarts.

Hotaru shoved something in front of Mikan. It was free period, and Mikan was sitting alone.

"Idiot. Remember what happened last time you were alone?" she asked.

"Hootaruuuuuuuu!" Mikan complained, "Don't treat me like a kid!"

Hotaru shoved the thing closer to her, jabbing her in the stomach. Mikan looked down and saw it was a book.

"You want me to study?"

"Does it _look_ like a spell book?" Hotaru asked, hitting Mikan upside the head.

"Hotaruuuuuu!"

"Read it."

"What _is_ it? Is it a chain _book_?"

"What's that?"

"Well, you know. A chain letter on in book form. A book that's passed from hand to hand because it says if you don't give it to someone within the week something bad will happen, but if you do, something good will happen?"

"No. Nothing like that exists in book-form. ...But thanks for the idea," Hotaru smirked, "Just read it."

Mikan took the green book and opened it. She looked boardly at the first page.

"_September 36__th__. I just got out of the hospital. Polka-dot was all sorts of happy. She became a signal. I don't quite understand it. Why did I react the way I did? Why did I get so mad? Why..._ erm... Hotaru... is this...?"

"Hyuga Natsume's diary."

Mikan dropped it. "WHY DO YOU HAVE THIS??"

"Skip to page 14. He didn't write in it that often. It's a major time skip..."

Mikan picked it up and flipped through it.

"_I tell myself that she hates me, and I try to MAKE her hate me, but them I get all mad when she does. I shouldn't be doing this. How could she love me? There's no way in the world. No way, no how. It's better if she hated me. It's better that way. It's-_ Hotaru! What is this??"

"Keep reading, Baka!" Hotaru said hitting Mikan with her Baka Gun.

"_-wrong. I have to lie to her enough as it is. Now I have to lie about my feelings?? I just want to push her against the wall and kiss her senselessly. What's so wrong with that? _Who is he talking about Hotaru?"

This time Hotaru didn't even answer. She just hit Mikan with her Baka Gun.

"_I don't know what it is about her, but she drives me crazy. How could you hate me? When all I wanted was to love you? How could you love me? When all I ever left you were open wounds? How? Why? And at the same time? Mikan-_" Mikan gasped. Hotaru finished reading over her shoulder.

"_-,what do I do?" _Hotaru finished.

Mikan blushed. She stood up.

"I shouldn't have read this," she said closing it, "I shouldn't have."

"You know your answer now?" Hotaru asked.

"I already knew my answer! I-!" but she stopped. Was she to tell Hotaru?

"You can give that back to Natsume."

Hotaru walked away. "MAAAAATEEEEEE!" Mikan cried. (Mate is wait) But Hotaru was already gone. Now, Mikan was stuck with Natsume's diary.

Natsume's diary...

"I'm not going to read anymore!" she told herself. She sat back down. "I wont."

_I'm not going to read it. _

_But it's no tempting..._

_Don't you have a spine, you wimp?! _

_But these are Natsume's feelings... _

_Exactly! If he got HIS hands on something that screamed YOUR heart at the top of it's lungs, would you want him reading it? _

_No! But I already read some... _

Mikan slapped herself like a house elf and opened the little green book.

**December 21****st****. **

**I kissed Mikan. I SHouldn't have done it. Too BaD. Ruka's gonna be pissed. I'm sorry, RUka. I couldn'T help it. ****It was stupid. I might have to kill myself over this****. Damn it. She just attracts me. It's lame. **

**February 4****th****. **

**We're supposed to be preparing for Valentines Day. Scary. I wonder what my fans will think up for me to eat noW. I wonder... wILL Mikan pREpare anything? She's bound to PrePare sOMething. That's who she is. ****I might like to receive something from her. **

And the reading continued. Hours of reading. The whole time, Mikan thought she should stop.

But she didn't.

Suddenly, something caught her eye.

**Mikan asked me if I was going somewhere. Not in the normal way, either. The "Natsume... you'd never leave to go somewhere without me, would you?" kinda way. The I-feel-like-your-going-away-forever-soon kinda way. I told her I wasn't. **

Mikan's voice caught.

**I hate lying to her. **

Mikan was ready to shut the book when something else caught her eye.

**I lie so much. She doesn't even know. **

**She doesn't even know Yuka, Z, is her mother.**

(Please continue to chapter fifteen!)

Author Note:

Thnx cherrylprincess for reviewing! This was an easy way of telling Mikan. (There was no way Natsume was going to tell her to her face.) I don't know if the crossing out is going to show up or not, but we'll see.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter six: Let me get this strait

Chapter fifteen: Apologizing

"Mikan's been really quiet recently..." Ruka said to his girlfriend during lunch. He and Hotaru had been sitting behind each other at lunch time for a few weeks now. Hotaru didn't like it that girls were all over Ruka. She wanted to keep tabs on her stuff.

"Has she?" Hotaru said, thinking for a second, "...yeah... she has. She hasn't tackle hugged me in three days..."

"I haven't seen Natsume either..." Ruka stated looking worried.

"You should be more worried about him when he comes back."

"Why?"

Hotaru ignored the question. She turned around and shoved a book into Ruka's arms.

"Here."

"What is this?" Ruka asked, looking at the cover.

"Open it."

"What is it?"

"Open it!"

Ruka did as he was told. On the first page it had a picture of two hands holding a book. The words "**You've opened the book...**" were scrawled across the page. He turned the page. On the next page was a picture of an arrow pointing to a page in a book. The words on this page read "**You've read this far..." **Ruka turned the page. The picture was of a star in the sky. Written across the page was "**Continue and you may be a star..."** He raised an eyebrow and flipped the page. A picture of a book and the hand of a girl and the hand of a boy looked back at him, along with the words "**Pass this on, and if you do..." **He turned the page to see a faceless/genderless person looking out a window, with the words "**Your greatest dreams will come true..." **written at the bottom. Ruka turned the page, getting interested. A picture of a book tossed in the trash appeared on the page, and at the bottom of the page were the words "**But be warned, if you do not let this book thrive..." **Ruka turned the page apprehensively. Crying eyes made of water color paint gazed up at him with sad eyes. The words "**Your greatest fears will come alive...**" glittered in blood red. Ruka fearfully turned the page again. This time, only words were on the page. It read "**You've been told, now what will you do? You have freedom, but I'm not through. Our worst fear isn't always what we think. We never know what we have until it's gone, and things can go before we blink. Will you take the risk, or take the chance? Will you pass this on, or let your dreams fall through your hands?**"

Ruka had to give Hotaru her props. This was pretty good. Yes, it was sick, and crooked. But that was his girlfriend. The chain letter even rimed. Or was it a chain letter? It's a book...?

He looked back at her. She smiled. He glared.

"You're sick."

"It wasn't originally my idea."

"You're still sick."

Hotaru smiled even brighter. "What will you do?" she asked playfully.

Ruka turned away from her and tossed the book to a random student. The poor first year who picked it up didn't have a chance. Hotaru began plugging headphones into her ears wile smirking. Ruka looked over at her as she began selecting what she wanted to listen to.

"Can you even use that in Hogwarts?"

"I had it modified."

Ruka watched her. He had heard you could tell a lot about a girl by the kind of music she listened to.

"What are you listening to?"

"Foamy."

"Fo-?"

She put on ear piece into his ear.

"_-There are certain kinds of people in this world who just piss me off to no end. The type of people who come up to you and ask you for advice, and then, when you give them advice, they don't take the advice, they just come back to you a week later and they're like 'I can't believe how everything turned out so wrong!' You wanna know why everything turned out wrong? Because you didn't take my advice, and you're &# stupid. That's what went wrong. You didn't-listen-to me! I know all. The other type of person-" _

At this point, Hotaru took back her head phone. Ruka stared at her. Yes, he thought, you COULD tell a lot about a girl by what she listened to.

Hotaru eyed her best friend through the corner of her eye. Mikan was playing with her food, without much thought. She had a look in her eye that said that she was a million miles away.

Mikan drooled in her spaghetti. Her face slipped off her hand and she inhaled noodles.

"GYAK!" she choked pulling back, fully awake now. She rubbed sauce and spaghetti off her face. She felt hot tears coming to her eyes.

"Mikan!" Ruka called as she bagan to cry. The Griffindoors began giving her a lot of attention, and Ruka and Hotaru got up to console her. The Hufflepuffs looked concerned. The Ravenclaws spared her a look. The Slitherens even turned to look (all though, some laughed).

"Mikan..." Hotaru said, patting Mikan on the back.

Mikan leaned against Hotaru and cried. Nothing made since to her anymore. Her mother was... alive? And... that awful woman?!

Harry patted her on the shoulder gently, in an awkward way. Hermione hugged her with Ruka and Hotaru. Ron stood there, unsure about himself. A girl named Luna Lovegood appeared by her side and held her hand.

"It's okay..." Luna said, "Boys don't say a lot of things. One time, when I was six, I had know this one boy for half a year. I thought we were friends. But I heard from one of the girls (real nice girl, she was nice to me on occasion) that he was just pretending so he could have a laugh with his guy friends."

How could Luna Lovegood know? Oh well. Who cared? Mikan gripped her hand tighter, and gripped Hotaru's arm tighter.

The teachers didn't seem to know what to do. They sat there gawking and looking stupid and awkward. Somehow, Natsume was nowhere...

Later that day...

Mikan walked back to the dormitory. She was embarrassed, and felt very sad. She whipped her eyes.

"What happened to you, Poka-Dot?"

Mikan looked up. Sure enough, it was Natsume. His bright red eyes looked at her with a caring look in them. She could tell he was trying to mask it with a cold expression, but couldn't seem to master it at the moment.

"Go away."

"Why?"

"Just go away! I HATE YOU!" she yelled. She grabbed his diary out from her bag and flung it at his chest. The book hit him square on. A small "Oof!" fluttered off his lips. He caught the book before it hit the ground.

Mikan ran past him. He watched her go. He looked down and recognized the book in his hands.

"Mi... kan..." he opened the book to the page that had stuck out at an odd angle, obviously because someone had treated it very roughly. He gasped when he saw what was written on it. "**She doesn't even know Yuka, Z, is her mother.**"

Natsume cringed. She knew. She knew that that woman was her mother. She knew that her life wasn't what she thought it was. She knew Natsume knew.

She knew Natsume didn't tell her.

Natsume nearly broke down crying. Nearly.

Natsume Hyuuga would never cry. Never.

Natsume Hyuuga _couldn't_ cry.

"That bastard!" Mikan yelled into her pillow, in the dormitory. "I don't ever want to see his face again! Never! I hate him! I HATE HIM!"

But even as she yelled these words, she knew they weren't true. She hadn't hated Natsume ever since she saw him being kidnapped so long ago. But... this was big. He... kept her genealogy from her. How could she forgive that?

The next day, Mikan didn't talk to Natsume. Natsume didn't really try all that hard though. Mikan ignored him. Natsume didn't even try to talk to her. And... that bothered Mikan.

_Did I go too far...?_ she wondered, _Telling him... I "hate" him? _

But she wouldn't worry about it. She refused.

Her frog spawn flask exploded in her face. Natsume didn't even smirk. Her potion received an F. Natsume didn't even burn Crab for laughing. She transfigured her kitty (who was supposed to become a tea cozy) into a bucket of meowing Howalons. Natsume didn't even call her a pig. She laughed about how bad a day it was to Pavarti, and Natsume didn't even smile.

Mikan was furious.

All Natsume had done ALL DAY! was write in his little note book. He was constantly tearing pages out and re-wringing whatever he was writing. Mikan felt like punching him in the face.

"You know what's really ugly?" Ruka asked.

"NATSUME'S FACE!" Mikan said, angrily.

"Urm... no... blastended skewarts. I was studying them for our History of Magic essay..."

At the end of the day, Mikan was really pissed off. She punched her pillow and began to cry into it. She was tiered, and frustrated. Hating Natsume wasn't going so well.

"Mikan?" Ran asked, "There's this... note. It was left at the bottom of the girl's dormitory stairs. It has your name on it..."

"I DON'T GIVE A-!" but when she saw the letter in poor little Ran's hands, she softened up. "Okay..."

She ripped open the letter and read it.

**How does it feel to be different from me? **

**Are we the same? **

**I don't know anymore. **

**I never did. **

**My mother is gone, but my father is here, but I don't even know who he is anymore. Is he still a good man?**

**Your father is gone, but your mother is here, but you don't know who she is. You know she has done bad things, but is she really a bad person? Not even I want to find out. **

**You look prettiest when you smile, and laugh, like the idiot you are. **

**Does knowing about Yuka make you sad? **

That was it. Nothing more was written. It wasn't signed, but it didn't need to be. Mikan knew it was from Natsume. She began to cry. She wasn't sure why. There was no feeling in her chest. She wasn't sad. But she wasn't sure if she was happy.

But she must be. This letter was carefully written. He didn't want to say anything that might upset her. But he still managed to be himself. This was, in its own way, a love letter. Maybe.

"I forgive you..." Mikan said, holding the letter to her heart.

(please continue to chapter sixteen)

Author note:

Thank you XxCrystal RainxX for reviewing.

This was a bunch of fluff, I know, but I had to write it. Mikan would have had a grudge against Natsume, and then she'd have to forgive him, so for the story to continue I needed this chapter. DUH! shoots self for apologizing for writing a chapter (Seriously, stupid right?)

Now, I am sorry it took so long to update! REALLY SORRY! And this posting this CRAP! ducks from you guys throwing tomatoes me for calling it "crap" Okay! Okay! It's not crap!

Tomorrow is a REALLY bleeping busy day for me. I've got... like... starts counting un.. oo... twe... fo... fivz... SIX THINGS TO DO! OMG! But, it'll all be fun crap. My mom really pushed the school work today, because "Tomorrow is a WEEEEEEE! day."

Hum... why am I listening to ToyBox? They've got cute songs but they can be a little... ehem! 


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter six: Let me get this strait

Chapter sixteen: Inside the Shirking Shack

"I'm fine!" Natsume yelled into the mike of his cell phone, "Kage Freak! I'm fine!"

"_You sure? I heared you got yourself landed in the hospital. ...and don't call me 'Kage Freak'! My name is Tsubasa Andou!" _

"That was a long time ago, Kage Freak. I'm perfectly fine."

"_If you get hurt again, Mikan-chan will be sad, and I won't forgive you."_

"Shut up, Kage Freak! Don't talk like you understand anything!"

He hung up on Tsubasa. He shoved the phone in his pocket.

"Hello, Natsume!" the Patil twins chimed, passing by. Natsume grunted.

He looked up and saw that it was getting late. His board eyes travled from the darkening sky, to the tree people called the "Womping Willow". Suddenly, he felt something weaving in and out in-between his legs. He looked down and saw a big ball of ginger fuz...

"Hello, Crookshanks."

Crookshanks purred. Crookshanks, being a smart little(urm, big?) cat, could since that Natsume had animal instinct. The kind associated with cats. Crookshanks liked Natsume.

"What is it?" Natsume asked, knowing full well that without Ruka, he probably wouldn't get anything out of asking. But that's were he was wrong.

"Where are you going?" he asked. The fuzzy ginger fur ball walked lazily to the dangerous tree. The tree swung out, just missing the cat.

"OI!" Natsume yelled, running up to remove the cat from harms way. But the cat was smart. It didn't get hurt at all. It placed its little paws on a knot in the side of the tree. The tree stopped moving.

"That's interesting..." Natsume muttered. He walked closer. The cat purred.

"What's your problem?" Natsume asked. The cat ran under a root from the tree, and Natsume examined it...

"It's a passage way!" Natsume gasped. He slid his feet into the crack and pushed his body through. He landed feet first (as cats normally do) and walked up the passage. When the passage ended, he found himself in a old house. It was torn up, and it looked like nobody lived here in ages. Crookshanks walked into the only open room. Natsume followed...

"POTIFICUS TOTALUS!"

Two days later... (muhaha.)

"Were has Natsume been?" Mikan asked nobody in particular, "It's been two days since I last seen him! I want to apologize for what I said..."

"What did you say?" Ruka asked innocently.

"Well..." Mikan thought back. _I HATE YOU!_ "Really bad thing."

"It couldn't have been so bad..."

_I HATE YOU!_

"Yeah... it could. And he actually bothered to apologize for what I said it about. I want to say sorry."

"Girls are weird..." Dean Thomas said. "She _wants_ to say sorry..."

"I'm worried too..." Ruka said.

"Haven't _you_ seen him?" Mikan asked, alarmed.

Ruka shook his head.

Mikan bit her lip, "That... That's not... Natsumeeeeee..."

She flipped the table next to her. "WHO CARES!? HE CAN GO MISSING IF HE WANTS TO! HE'S A BIG BOY! HE DOESN'T NEED SOMEONE HOLDING HIS HAND ALL THE TIME!"

"You're really upset he's not around..." Dean said, "Then again... I'm kinda worried too. I mean... he never came back to the dormitory since Monday..."

Mikan stared at Dean. He looked up at her.

"What?"

"NATSUME!" both Ruka and Mikan yelled in fright, running in opposite directions. "Natsume!" Mikan called out. Ruka was doing the same in the opposite direction. "Natsume! Naaaatsuuuumeeeeeee!" she yelled.

"Mikan?" Hotaru asked, "What's wrong?"

"N-N-N-N-N-N-Natsume! He missing!" Mikan bust into hysterical tears. Hotaru hit her with her Baka Cannon. "HOTARUUUUUUU! I CAN _DIE_, YOU KNOW!"

"Shut up! I'm sure you're mistaken!"

"NO!" Mikan yelled, getting onto the floor in a fetal position, "He's GONE! He's missing! Nobody's seen him for days! And Dean Thomas says he hasn't come back to his dorm! He's gone! And I... I... I...!"

"SHUT UP!" Hotaru snapped. "I'm sure he's FINE! Probably skipping classes, and getting into bed late, and waking up early! What could have happened? Nothing!"

Mikan didn't seem convinced.

"Hey... Potter, Wesley and Granger are going to be down with Hagrid Sensei, to help him through his pet's death. You wanna go with them? I am, and I'll drag Ruka-kun with me."

"I-I g-g-guess... you really think Natsume's okay?"

"Yes." Hotaru said firmly.

"Okay... that's awfully nice of you Hotaru."

"I heard Unicorn hair was worth a lot. I was going to ask an upset Hagrid Sensei if I could have some."

Mikan sweat dropped.

That's how Mikan and Hotaru and Ruka became part of a grand adventure...

"It's okay, Hagrid..." Hermione said, trying to sooth him.

"Yeah! They can't kill him! We still have a chance!"

"Nah, we don'!" Hegrid cried, "'ey don' bring an executioner is yeh still gots a chance! They'z goanna kill 'im!"

"Why don't you just set Buckbeak free?"

"They'd know it waz me."

Ruka was out in the yard, comforting Buckbeak. Ruka made Buckbeak happy... kinda. Buckbeak still looked kinda depressed, which seemed to be making Ruka depressed.

"Hagrid Sensei, I'm studying the effects of Unicorn hair for my potions project. Could I have some?" Hotaru asked, like an angel. However, Mikan knew a devil was grinning on the inside.

"Su'... take some... sniff..."

Hotaru reached up and pulled down a bunch of hairs from the ceiling. Hermione scowled at her. She mouthed 'what potions project?' but said nothing. Harry looked out the window.

"Crap." he said, "Here they come!"

"LOOK AT THE TIME! GET THE BLOODY HELL BACK TO THE CASTLE! I SHOULDNTA LET YEH COME AT ALL! GET BACK TO DE CASTLE!"

Ruka had hidden behind the hut. The rest of them crawled out the back door and they all hit under the invisibility cloak. It was VERY crowded. _VERY_!

"Ouch!"

"Stop stepping on my feet!"

"Do that again, Ruka, and I'll test the Baka Rocket Launcher on you..."

"Don't touch me there!"

"Sorry!"

"And I _told_ you, Ronald, that your rat wasn't eaten by my cat!" Hermione snapped at Ron, "See? He was with Hagrid this whole time!"

"Yeah, yeah..." Ron said, cradling Scabbers.

"Uh-oh..." Hermione said. Crookshanks was in the grass. He was walking towards them.

"Crookshanks! No, go away, Crookshanks! Go away!"

But Crookshanks came nearer-

"Scabbers... NO!"

The rat slipped between Ron's fingers and darted away from him. The cat darted for the rat. Ron ran out from underneath the cloak.

"Get off of him!" he yelled, wrestling the cat away from his beloved rat.

"Ron!" Hermione moaned.

"Get off him! Get! Come here Scabbers!" there was a loud thud in the dark. "Gotcha!"

They stumbled over Ron, who was on the ground with a quivering Scabbers in his pocket. The invisibility cloak flew off of them, as they stumbled to the ground. Before they could even catch their breath, they heard the soft pounding of gigantic paws. Something was bounding towards them out of the dark - an enormous, pale-eyed, jet-black dog.

Harry tried to get out his wand, but before he could, the dog's front paws were on his chest, winding him. He keeled over backwards in a whirl of hair; he felt its hot breath, saw inch-long teeth -

But the force of its leap had carried it too far; it rolled off him; dazed, feeling as though his ribs were broken, Harry tried to stand up; he could hear it growling as it skidded around for a new attack.

Ron was on his feet. As the dog sprang back towards them, he pushed Harry aside; the dog's jaws fastened instead around Ron's outstretched arm. Mikan squealed, afraid. Hotaru reached out for her tranquilizers, but they had fallen too far away. She had also left her Baka Gun in her dorm. Ruka tried to calm the dog, but failed. There was something un-animal about it...

Harry lunged at it and seized a handful of the brute's hair, but it was dragging Ron away as easily as if he were a rag-doll –

Mikan tried to stand, but the moment she was on her feet, she was tossed back. Something hit her in the stomach, throwing her. When she landed she and Hermione squealed at the same time, but for different reasons. Hermione had been hit by something as well, too. Mikan had fallen on one of Hotaru's tranqualizers.

"Why needles, Hotaruuuuu!?" she asked, ripping the needle out of her butt. Her right leg began to feel numb.

"Lumos!" Harry whispered.

His wand-light showed them the trunk of a thick tree; they had chased Scabbers into he shadow of the Whomping Willow and its branches were creaking as though in a high wind, whipping backwards and forwards to stop them going nearer.

And there, at the base of the trunk, was the dog, dragging Ron backwards into a large gap in the roots - Ron was fighting furiously, but his head and torso were slipping out of sight –

"RON!" Herry yelled.

All they could see now was one of Ron's legs, which he had hooked around a root in an effort to stop the dog pulling him further underground. Then a horrible crack cut the air like a gunshot; Ron's leg had broken, and next second, his foot had vanished from sight.

Ruka winced. He tripped, and fell on top of Hermione's back. Hotaru pulled him up. Her girlfriend senses tingling.

Mikan tried to run forward, not doing a very good job. Her leg didn't want to support her.

"Hermione, your shoulder's caked in blood!" Ruka gasped, whipping Hermione's blood off his hand.

"Harry!" Hermione yelled, "We've got to go for HELP!" She was clearly panicked.

"No! That thing's big enough to eat him, we haven't got time -"

"We're never going to get through without help -"

Another branch whipped down at them, twigs clenched like knuckles.

"If that dog can get in, we can," Harry panted, darting here and there, trying to find a way through the vicious, swishing branches, but he couldn't get an inch nearer to the tree-roots without being in range of the tree's blows.

"Oh, help, help," Hermione whispered frantically, dancing uncertainly on the spot, "please ..."

Ruka felt a furry feeling down at his ankles. Crookshanks was nudging him.

"Do _you_ know how to do it?" he asked. Crookshanks darted forward and put his paws up on the knot on the tree. Everything stopped. The willows branches stopped swaying.

"Crookshanks!" Hermione whispered uncertainly. She now grasped Harry's arm painfully hard. "How did he know -?"

"He's friends with that dog," said Harry grimly. "I've seen them together. Come on - and keep your wand out -"

They climbed into the root under the tree and slid into the tunnel below. Crookshanks walked knowingly up the passage.

"Where's Ron?" Hermione asked.

"This way..." Harry said, following the cat. Mikan had to lean on Ruka for support as the walked down the tunnel. Her other leg was beginning to feel numb.

"You're lucky you're anatomy is one of a human's. They take a long time to work on humans. If you were an animal, or had an animal Alice like Sumire, you'd be passed out by now," Hotaru said, giving her no sympathy.

"Where does this tunnel lead?" Hermione asked breathlessly from behind Harry.

"I don't know ... it's marked on the Marauder's Map but Fred and George said no one's ever get into it. It goes off the edge of the map, but it looked like it ends up in Hogsmeade ..."

They moved as fast as they could, bent almost double; ahead of them, Crookshanks's tail bobbed in and out of view. And then the tunnel began to rise; moments later it twisted, and Crookshanks had gone. Instead, they could see a patch of dim light through a small opening.

They all paused, gasping for air. Walking that tunnel wasn't a cake walk.

They crawled up into the opening and looked around. It was a room, a very disordered, dusty room. Paper was peeling from the walls; there were stains all over the floor; every piece of furniture was broken as though somebody had smashed it. The windows were all boarded-up.

"I... I think we're in the Shrieking Shack..." Hermione said, nervously.

"The haunted one?!" Mikan yelped, clearly scared. But she couldn't so anything about it; she felt too numb to run away, and she began _loosing _feeling in her toes.

"Ghosts didn't do that..." Harry said pointing to a torn up chair. The whole place looked ripped to pieces. At that moment, there was a creak overhead. Something had moved upstairs.

Quietly as they could, they crept out into the hall up the crumbling staircase. Everything was covered in a thick layer of dust except the floor, where a wide shiny stripe had been made by something being dragged upstairs.

They reached the dark landing.

"Knox!" Harry whispered, letting the light at the tip of his wand go out. Mikan didn't think that was too smart. Only one door was open. As they crept towards it, they heard movement from behind it; a low moan, and then a deep, loud purring.

Harry gripped his wand just as tightly as Mikan gripped Ruka's arm. Harry kicked opened the door, wand at the ready...

On a magnificent four-poster bed with dusty hangings, lay Crookshanks, purring loudly at the sight of them. On the floor beside him, clutching his leg, which stuck out at a strange angle, was Ron.

Harry and Hermione dashed across to him. Hotaru didn't feel like caring, and Ruka had to hold onto Mikan, who was in no condition to run.

"Ron - are you OK?"

"Where's the dog?"

"Not a dog," Ron moaned. His teeth were gritted with pain. "Harry, it's a trap -"

"What -"

_"He's the dog ... he's an Animagus ..." _

Ron was staring over Harry's shoulder. They all wheeled around. With a snap, the man in the shadows closed the door behind them. A mass of filthy, matted hair hung to his elbows. If eyes hadn't been shining out of the deep, dark sockets, he might have been a corpse. The waxy skin was stretched so tightly over the bones of his face, it looked like a skull. His yellow teeth were bared in a grin. It was Sirius Black.

Ruka thought Mikan fainted. But no, she had just lost all feeling in her legs, and couldn't support herself. But, much to Ruka's amassment, she wasn't looking at Black.

"Z..."

Sure enough, even deeper in shadow, was Yuka. She looked good compared to Black. Her hair was nicely combed out. Her glasses were not broken in the least, and she looked more like a business woman than a runaway Alice.

"_Expelliarmus_!" Black croaked, pointing Ron's wand at them.

Harry and Hermione's wands shot out of their hands, high in the air, and Black caught them. Then he took a step closer. His eyes were fixed on Harry.

"I thought you'd come and help your friend," he said hoarsely. His voice sounded as though he had long ago lost the habit of using it. "Your father would have done the same for me. Brave of you, not to run for a teacher. I'm grateful ... it will make everything much easier ..."

"Siriusu..." Yuka said, almost in warning. Her eyes were fixated on Mikan, who looked at her terrified. Mikan had to be the most scared person in the room. Harry, Ron, and Hermone only knew to be afraid of Black, and Hotaru and Ruka had over heard Natsume telling Tsubasa that Yuka was Mikan's mother. Mikan didn't know anything. She was afraid of both Black and Yuka.

Harry tried to rush forward at Black, but the rest of them held him back.

"No, Harry!" Hermione moaned.

But Ron spoke to Sirius: "If you want to kill Harry, you'll have to kill us too!"

"I'm not giving up my life so Potter can live. Just give him to him," Hotaru said, backing away from Ron.

"Lie down," Sirius said quietly to Ron. "You will damage that leg even more."

"Did you hear me?" Ron said weakly, though he was clinging painfully to Harry to stay upright. "You'll have to kill all three of us!" Mikan and Ruka were slightly glad that they were kept out of it.

"No..." Yuka said, shaking her head.

"There'll only be one murder here tonight," said Black, and his grin widened.

"Why's that?" Harry spat, trying to wrench himself free of Ron and Hermione. "Didn't care last time, did you? Didn't mind slaughtering all those Muggles to get at Pettigrew ... What's the matter, gone soft in Azkaban?"

"Harry!" Hermione whimpered. "Be quiet!"

"HE KILLED MY MUM AND DAD!" Harry roared, and with a huge effort he broke free of Hermione and Ron's restraint and lunged forwards.

Harry ran at Black and knocked him down. He wrapped his hand around Black's throat. With the other, he punched every part of Black he could reach. But Black's free hand had found Harry's throat -

"No," he hissed. "I've waited too long -"

The fingers tightened, Harry choked, his glasses askew.

Hermione ran fowarnd and kicked at Sirius. Black let go of Harry with a grunt of pain. Ron threw himself on Black's wand hand and his wand fell to the floor with a clatter.

Harry fought free of the tangle of bodies and saw his own wand rolling across the floor; he threw himself towards it but -

"Argh!"

Crookshanks had joined the fray; both sets of front claws had sunk themselves deep into Harry's arm; Harry threw him off, but Crookshanks now darted towards Harry's wand -

"NO YOU DON'T!" roared Harry, and he aimed a kick at Crookshanks that made him leap aside, spitting; Harry snatched up his wand and turned.

"Get out of the way!" he shouted at Ron and Hermione.

They didn't need telling twice.

Hermione, gasping for breath, her lip bleeding, scrambled aside, snatching up her and Ron's wands. Ron crawled to the four-poster and collapsed onto it, panting, his white face now tinged with green, both hands clutching his broken leg.

"Hey..." he said.

Black was sprawled at the bottom of the wall. Harry's wand was pointing straight at Black's heart.

"Going to kill me, Harry?" he whispered.

"Don't..." Mikan whispered. She didn't want to see that. Ruka placed a gentle hand on Mikan's mouth. This was Harry's moment. Herry's decision. They couldn't make him chose the path of forgiveness. Mikan closed her eyes. Hotaru backed closer to the wall. Yuka simply looked... board. "He's not goona kill him..." she muttered.

"You killed my parents," said Harry, his voice shaking slightly, but his wand hand quite steady.

Black stared up at him out of those sunken eyes.

"I don't deny it," he said, very quietly.

Yuka snorted. Harry and Black ignored her.

"But if you knew the whole story -" Black continued.

"The whole story?" Harry repeated, "You sold them to Voldemort, that's all I need to know!"

Yuka snorted again. She seemed to think the situation was _funny_. Mikan shot a furious look at her. It _wasn't_ funny! It was _scary_! That woman was evil!

"You've got to listen to me," Black said, and there was a note of urgency in his voice now. "You'll regret it if you don't ... you don't understand ..."

"I understand a lot better than you think," said Harry, his voice shaking more then ever. "You never heard her, did you? My mum ... trying to stop Voldemort killing me ... and you did that ... you did it ..."

Crookshanks leapt onto Black's chest, and settled himself there, right over Black's heart.

"_Guys_..." Ron said again.

Black blinked and looked down at the cat, ignoring Ron.

"Get off," he murmured, trying to push Crookshanks off him.

But Crookshanks sank his claws into Black's robes and wouldn't shift. He turned his ugly, squashed face to Harry, and looked up at him with those great yellow eyes. Hermione gave a dry sob.

Harry stared down at Black and Crookshanks, his grip tightening on the wand.

Harry raised the wand.

"Guys..." Ron said again. Harry ignored him.

Muffled footsteps were echoing up through the floor - someone was moving downstairs.

"WE'RE UP HERE!" Hermione screamed suddenly. "WE'RE UP HERE - SIRIUS BLACK - QUICK!"

Mikan yelped "Sekitateru!" (sekitateru is hurry up)

Black made a startled movement that almost dislodged Crookshanks; Harry gripped his wand convulsively.

The door of the room burst open in a shower of red sparks and Harry wheeled around as Professor Lupin came hurtling into the room, his face bloodless, his wand raised and ready. His eyes flickered over Ron, lying on the floor, over Hermione, cowering next to the door, past Hotaru, tyring to stay out of the whole mess by the wall, over Ruka trying to support Mikan, who's chest was beginning to feel numb, to Harry, standing there with his wand covering Black, and then to Black himself, crumpled and bleeding at Harry's feet.

"_Expelliarmus!_" Lupin shouted.

Harry's wand flew once more out of his hand; so did the two Hermione was holding. Lupin caught them all deftly, then moved into the room, staring at Black, who still had Crookshanks lying protectively across his chest.

Lupin spoke, in an odd voice, a voice that shook with some suppressed emotion. "Where is he, Sirius?"

Harry looked quickly at Lupin. He turned to look at Black again.

Black's face was quite expressionless. For a few seconds, he didn't move at all. Mikan wondered if he, too, had gone numb. Then, very slowly, he raised his empty hand, and pointed straight at Ron.

Everyone looked over at Ron. Ron was looking quite bewildered but kept looking over at the other side of the four-poster bed, with a nervous glance.

"But then ..." Lupin muttered, staring at Black so intently it seemed he was trying to read his mind, "... why hasn't he shown himself before now? Unless -" Lupin's eyes suddenly widened, as though he was seeing something beyond Black, something none of the rest could see, "- unless he was the one ... unless you switched ... without telling me?"

Very slowly, his sunken gaze never leaving Lupin's face, Black nodded.

"Professor Lupin," Harry interrupted loudly, "what's going -?"

But he never finished the question. Everyone froze completely. Lupin was lowering his wand. Next moment, he had walked to Black's side, seized his hand, pulled him to his feet so that Crookshanks fell to the floor, and embraced Black like a brother.

Yuka burst out laughing. "NO WAY!" she yelled in a fit of giggles.

"I DON'T BELIEVE IT!" Hermione screamed.

Lupin let go of Black and turned to Hermione. She had raised herself off the floor, and was pointing at Lupin, wild-eyed. "You - you -"

"Hermione -"

"- you and him!"

"Hermione, calm down -"

"I didn't tell anyone!" Hermione shrieked. "I've been covering up for you -"

"Hermione, listen to me, please!" Lupin shouted. "I can explain -"

Harry was shaking.

"I trusted you," he shouted at Lupin, his voice wavering out of control, "and all the time you've been his friend!"

"You're wrong," said Lupin and Yuka together. Yuka then shut up and let Lupid finish. "I haven't been Sirius' friend for twelve years, but I am now ... let me explain ..."

"NO!" Hermione screamed, "Harry, don't trust him, he's been helping Black get into the castle, he wants you dead too -_ he's a werewolf!_"

There was a ringing silence. Everyone's eyes were now on Lupin, even Yuka's. Remus's eyes looked remarkably calm, though rather pale.

"Not at all up to your usual standard, Hermione," he said. "Only one out of three, I'm afraid. I have not been helping Sirius get into the castle and I certainly don't want Harry dead ..." An odd shiver passed over his face. "But I won't deny that I am a werewolf."

"There's a-" Ron made a valiant effort to get up again, but fell back with a whimper of pain. Lupin made towards him, looking concerned, but Ron gasped, _"Get away from me, werewolf!"_

Lupin stopped dead. Then, with an obvious effort, he turned to Hermione and said, "How long have you known?"

"Ages," Hermione whispered. "Since I did Professor Snape's essay ..."

"He'll be delighted," said Lupin coolly. "He set that essay hoping someone would realize what my symptoms meant. Did you check the lunar chart and realize that I was always ill at the full moon? Or did you realize that the Boggart changed into the moon when it saw me?"

"Both," Hermione said quietly.

Lupin forced a laugh, and Yuka really laughed. "Smart little girl..." she said, "And Siriusu-kun said you were smart, Rupin-san..."

"You're the cleverest witch of your age I've ever met, Hermione."

"I'm not," Hermione whispered. "If I'd been a bit cleverer, I'd have told everyone what you are!"

"But they already know," said Lupin. "At least, the staff do."

"Dumbledore hired you when he knew you were a werewolf?" Ron gasped. "Is he mad?"

"Some of the staff thought so," said Lupin. "He had to work very hard to convince certain teachers hat I'm trustworthy -"

"AND HE WAS WRONG!" Harry yelled. "YOU'VE BEEN HELPING HIM ALL THIS TIME!" He was pointing at Black, who had crossed to the four-poster bed and sunk onto it, his face hidden in one shaking hand. Crookshanks leapt up beside him and stepped onto his lap, purring. Ron edged away from both of them, dragging his leg.

"AND-!" Ron began, but he winced in pain before he could continue. His leg hurt.

"I have not been helping Sirius," said Lupin. "If you'll give me a chance, I'll explain. Look -"

He separated Harry, Ron and Hermione's wands and threw each back to its owner; Harry caught his looking stunned. Hermione's ended up hitting Hotaru's foot, because Hermione was too stunned to catch it.

"There," said Lupin, sticking his own wand back into his belt. "You're armed, we're not. Now will you listen?"

Ruka nodded. It seemed reasonable to him. Hotaru grunted. Hermione looked close to tears. Ron looked scared. Harry looked confused. Mikan... wasn't sure what was going on in her.

"If you haven't been helping him," Harry said, with a furious glance at Black, "how did you know he was here?"

"The map," said Lupin. "The Marauder's Map. I was in my office examining it -"

"You know how to work it?" Harry said suspiciously.

"Of course I know how to work it," said Lupin, waving his hand impatiently. "I helped write it. I'm Moony - that was my friends' nickname for me at school."

"You_ wrote -?_"

"The important thing is, I was watching it carefully this evening, because I had an idea that you, Ron and Hermione might try and sneak out of the castle to visit Hagrid before his Hippogriff was executed. And I was right, wasn't I?"

He had started to pace up and down, looking at them. Little patches of dust rose at his feet. Mikan coughed as some of it fluttered up to her mouth. She felt her fingers going numb as the bottom part of her torso lost all feeling.

"You might have been wearing your father's old Cloak, Harry -"

"How d'you know about the Cloak?"

"The number of times I saw James disappearing under it ..." said Lupin, waving an impatient hand again. "The point is, even if you're wearing an Invisibility Cloak you show up on the Marauder's Map. I watched you six cross the grounds and enter Hagrid's hut. Twenty minutes later, you left Hagrid's hut, and set off back towards the castle. But you were accompanied by somebody else."

"What?" said Harry. "No, we weren't!"

"Nu-uh!" Mikan yelped at the same time Harry protested, forgetting her fear momentarily.

"I couldn't believe my eyes," said Lupin, still pacing, and ignoring Harry's and Mikan's interruption. "I thought the map must be malfunctioning. How could he be with you?"

"No one was with us!" said Harry. Ruka looked doubtful too.

"And then I saw another dot, moving fast towards you, labeled Sirius Black ... I saw him collide with you, I watched as he pulled two of you into the Whomping Willow -"

"One of us!" Ron said angrily.

"No, Ron," said Lupin. "Two of you."

He had stopped pacing, his eyes moving over Ron.

"Do you think I could have a look at the rat?" he said evenly.

"What?" said Ron. "What's Scabbers got to do with it?"

"Everything," said Lupin. "Could I see him, please?"

Ron hesitated, then put a hand inside his robes. Scabbers emerged, thrashing desperately; Ron had to seize his long bald tail to stop him escaping. Crookshanks stood up on Black's lap and made a soft hissing noise. Yuka looked at the rat curiously.

Lupin moved closer to Ron. He seemed to be holding his breath as he gazed intently at Scabbers.

"Oh, leave the poor thing alone!" Ruka gasped.

"What?" Ron said again, holding Scabbers close to him, looking scared. "What's my rat got to do with anything?"

"That's not a rat," croaked Sirius Black suddenly.

"Huh... OH!" Yuka said as if she finally got a joke.

"What d'you mean - of course he's a rat -"

"No, he's not," said Lupin quietly. "He's a wizard."

"An Animagus," said Black, "by the name of Peter Pettigrew."


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter six: Let me get this strait

Chapter seventeen: Innocent

It took a few seconds for the absurdity of this statement to sink in. Then Ron voiced what everyone was thinking.

"You're both mental."

"Ridiculous!" said Hermione faintly.

"Peter Pettigrew's _dead!_" said Harry. "_He_ killed him twelve years ago!"

He pointed at Black, whose face twitched convulsively.

"I meant to," he growled, his yellow teeth bared, "but little Peter got the better of me ... not this time, though!"

And Crookshanks was thrown to the floor (Ruka looked pained) as Black lunged at Scabbers; Ron yelled with pain as Black's weight fell on his broken leg.

"Sirius, NO!" Lupin yelled, launching himself forwards (As Yuka smirked and told him that Sirius wasn't THAT much like a dog) and dragging Black away from Ron again, "WAIT! You can't do it just like that - they need to understand - we've got to explain -"

"We can explain afterwards!" snarled Black, trying to throw Lupin off, one hand still clawing the air as it tried to reach Scabbers, who was squealing like a piglet, scratching Ron's face and neck as he tried to escape. Mikan screamed with terror the entire time. Yuka flashed an angry look at Sirius. She walked forward toward Sirius.

"They've - got - a - right - to - know - everything!" Lupin panted, still trying to restrain Black. "Ron's kept him as a pet! There are parts of it even I don't understand! And Harry - you owe Harry the truth, Sirius!"

Black stopped struggling, though his hollowed eyes were still fixed on Scabbers, who was clamped tightly under Ron's bitten, scratched and bleeding hands. Yuka stopped walking as Mikan stop screaming.

"All right, then," Black said, without taking his eyes off the rat. "Tell them whatever you like. But make it quick, Remus. I want to commit the murder I was imprisoned for ..."

"You're nutters, both of you," said Ron shakily, looking round at Harry and Hermione for support. "I've had enough of this. I'm off."

He tried to heave himself up on his good leg, but Lupin raised is wand again, pointing it at Scabbers.

"You're going to hear me out, Ron," he said quietly. "Just keep a tight hold on Peter while you listen."

"HE'S NOT PETER, HE'S SCABBERS!" Ron yelled, trying to force the rat back into his front pocket, but Scabbers was fighting too hard; Ron swayed and overbalanced, and Harry caught him and pushed him back down to the bed. "AND THERE'S AN UNCOCIOUSE PERSON ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THIS BED!"

They all rushed over to the bed. Even Ruka dragged Mikan over to it. Sure enough there was a boy laying face down on the floor on the other side of the bed.

"NATSUME!" Mikan and Ruka both yelped.

It _was_ Natsume. He seemed to be asleep.

"Ah... we should explain _that_ first..." Yuka said. Lupin looked shocked.

"W-why...?!"

"Easy wolf boy," Yuka said, "So it went like this, Neko-kun there," she pointed at Crookshanks, "liked Kuro Neko, so he brought Kuro Neko here. We couldn't HAVE Kuro Neko telling anyone about us, or doing what I'm sure he was ordered to do. So we knocked him out, and kept him asleep with _non lethal _drugs."

"But you weren't very gentle." Black pointed out.

Mikan climbed over the bed (using her arms) and tossed heself to the ground next to Natsume. She pulled him tightly into her arms. Tears swam in her eyes.

"Y-you must understand, Mikan!" Yuka said, desperately, "I had no choice!"

Lupin looked appalled. "You... drugged..."

"He's FINE!" Yuka said. Sirius laid back on the bed.

"Yeah, yeah... get on with the story, Remus..."

Harry turned his attention to Lupin.

"There were witnesses who saw Pettigrew die," he said. "A whole street full of them ..."

"They didn't see what they thought they saw!" said Black savagely, sitting back up.

"Everyone thought Sirius killed Peter," said Lupin, nodding. "I believed it myself - until I saw the map tonight. Because the Marauder's Map never lies ... Peter's alive. Ron's holding him, Harry."

Mikan and Hotaru looked at one another and as their eyes met they agreed, silently: Black and Lupin were both out of their minds.

Then Hermione spoke, in a trembling, would-be calm sort of voice, as though trying to will Professor Lupin to talk sensibly.

"But Professor Lupin ... Scabbers can't be Pettigrew ... it just can't be true, you know it can't ..."

"Why can't it be true?" Lupin said calmly, as though they were in class, and Hermione had simply spotted a problem in an experiment with grindylows.

"Because ... because people would _know_ if Peter Pettigrew had been an Animagus. We did Animagi in class with Professor McGonagall. And I looked them up when I did my homework - the Ministry keeps tabs on witches and wizards who can become animals; there's a register showing what animal they become, and their markings and things ... and I went and looked Professor McGonagall up on the register, and there have only been seven Animagi this century, and Pettigrew's name wasn't on the list -"

Lupin started to laugh.

"Right again, Hermione!" he said. "But the Ministry never knew that there used to be three unregistered Animagi running around Hogwarts."

"If you're going to tell them the story, get a move on, Remus," snarled Black, who was still watching Scabbers's every desperate move. "I've waited twelve years, I'm not going to wait much longer."

"All right ... but you'll need to help me, Sirius," said Lupin. "I only know how it began ..."

Lupin broke off. There had been a loud creak behind him. The bedroom door had opened of its own accord. All nine of them stared at it. Natsume couldn't, as he was asleep.

Then Lupin strode towards it and looked out into the landing.

"No one there ..."

"This place is haunted!" said Ron and Mikan. Mikan actually began to cry some more. Yuka bent down to pat her back, but got swatted away.

"It's not," said Lupin, still looking at the door in a puzzled way. "The Shrieking Shack was never haunted ... the screams and howls the villagers used to hear were made by me."

He pushed his graying hair out of his eyes, thought for a moment, then said, "That's where all of this starts -with my becoming a werewolf. None of this could have happened if I hadn't been bitten ... and if I hadn't been so foolhardy ..."

He looked somber and tired. Ron started to interrupt, but Hermione said, "Shh!" She was watching Lupin very intently.

"I was a very small boy when I received the bite. My parents tried everything, but in those days there was no cure. The Potion that Professor Snape has been making for me is a very recent discovery. It makes me safe, you see. As long as I take it in the week preceding the full moon, I keep my mind when I transform ... I am able to curl up in my office, a harmless wolf, and wait for the moon to wane again.

"Before the Wolfsbane Potion was discovered, however, I became a fully fledged monster once a month. It seemed impossible that I would be able to come to Hogwarts. Other parents weren't likely to want their children exposed to me.

"But then Dumbledore became headmaster, and he was sympathetic. He said that, as long as we took certain precautions, there was no reason I shouldn't come to school ..." Lupin sighed, and looked directly at Harry. "I told you, months ago, that the Whomping Willow was planted the year I came to Hogwarts. The truth is that it was planted _because_ I had come to Hogwarts. This house -" Lupin looked miserably around the room, "- the tunnel that leads to it - they were all built for my use. Once a month, I was smuggled out of the castle, into this place, to transform. The tree was placed at the tunnel mouth to stop anyone coming across me while I was dangerous."

"My transformations in those days were - were terrible. It is very painful to turn into a werewolf. I was separated from humans to bite, so I bit and scratched myself instead. The villagers heard the noise and the screaming and thought they were hearing particularly violent spirits. Dumbledore encouraged the rumor ... even now, when the house has been silent for years, the villagers don't dare approach it ...But apart from my transformations, I was happier than I had ever been in my life. For the first time ever, I had friends, three great friends. Sirius Black ... Peter Pettigrew ... and, of course, your father, Harry - James Potter."

"Now, my three friends could hardly fail to notice that I disappeared once a month. I made up all sorts of stories. I told them my mother was ill, and that I had to go home to see her ... I was terrified they would desert me the moment they found out what I was. But of course, they, like you, Hermione, worked out the truth ... And they didn't desert me at all."

"Instead they did something for me that would make my transformations not only bearable, but the best times of my life. They became Animagi."

"My dad, too?" asked Harry.

"Yes, indeed," said Lupin. "It took them the best part of three years to work out how to do it. Your father and Sirius here were the cleverest students in the school, and lucky they were, because the Animagus transformation can go horribly wrong - one reason the Ministry keeps a close watch on those attempting to do it. Peter needed all the help he could get from James and Sirius. Finally, in our fifth year, they managed it. They could each turn into a different animal at will."

"But how did that help you?" asked Hermione and Hotaru. Hermione sounded puzzled. Hotaru sounded like she had board interest.

"They couldn't keep me company as humans, so they kept me company as animals," said Lupin. "A werewolf is only a danger to people. They sneaked out of the castle every month under James's Invisibility Cloak. They transformed ... Peter, as the smallest, could slip beneath the Willow's attacking branches and touch the knot that freezes it. They would then slip down the tunnel and join me. Under their influence, I became less dangerous. My body was still wolfish, but my mind seemed to become less so while I was with them."

"Hurry up, Remus," snarled Black, who was still watching Scabbers with a horrible sort of hunger in his face. Mikan flintched, as she was so close to Sirius.

"Be patient!" Yuka snapped, "Control yourself, Inu-kun!" (inu means dog)

"I'm getting there, Sirius, I'm getting there ... well, highly exciting possibilities were open to us now we could all transform. Soon we were leaving the Shrieking Shack and roaming the school grounds and the village by night. Sirius and James transformed into such large animals, they were able to keep a werewolf in check. I doubt whether any Hogwarts student ever found out more about the Hogwarts grounds and Hogsmeade than we did ... And that's how we came to write the Marauder's Map and sign it with our nicknames. Sirius is Padfoot. Peter is Wormtail. James was Prongs."

"What sort of animal -?" Harry began, but Hermione cut across him.

"That was really dangerous! Running around in the dark with a werewolf! What if you'd given the others the slip, and bitten somebody?"

"A thought that still haunts me," said Lupin heavily. "And there were near misses, many of them. We laughed about them afterwards. We were young, thoughtless - carried away with our own cleverness."

"I sometimes felt guilty about betraying Dumbledore's trust, of course ... he had admitted me to Hogwarts when no other Headmaster would have done so, and he had no idea I was breaking the rules he had set down for my own and others' safety. He never knew I had led three fellow students into becoming Animagi illegally.

"But I always managed to forget my guilty feelings every time we sat down to plan our next month's adventure. And I haven't changed ..."

Lupin's face had hardened, and there was self-disgust in his voice. "All year, I have been battling with myself, wondering whether I should tell Dumbledore that Sirius was an Animagus. But I didn't do it. Why? Because I was too cowardly. It would have meant admitting that I'd betrayed his trust while I was at school, admitting that I'd led others along with me ... and Dumbledore's trust has meant everything to me. He let me into Hogwarts as a boy, and he gave me a job, when I have been shunned all my adult life, unable to find paid work because of what I am. And so I convinced myself that Sirius was getting into the school using Dark Arts he learnt from Voldemort, that being an Animagus had nothing to do with it ... so, in a way, Snape's been right about me all along."

"Snape?" said Black harshly, taking his eyes off Scabbers for the first time in minutes and looking up at Lupin. "What's Snape got to do with it?" Yuka took a step back out of fright from his sudden outburst and held out her hands "Hey! Want me to take your magic?!"

"He's here, Sirius," said Lupin heavily. "He's teaching here as well." He looked up at Harry, Ron, Hermione, Hotaru, Ruka, Mikan, and even sleeping Natsume.

"Professor Snape was at school with us. He fought very hard against my appointment to the Defence Against the Dark Arts job. He has been telling Dumbledore all year that I'm not to be trusted. He has his reasons ... you see, Sirius here played a trick on him which nearly killed him, a trick which involved me -"

Black made a derisive noise. Mikan gulped. Yuka hit the back of Sirius's head.

"It served him right," Sirius sneered, rubbing the back of his head and glared at Yuka, "Sneaking around, trying to find out what we were up to ... hoping he could get us expelled ..."

"Severus was very interested in where I went every month," Lupin told Harry, Ron and Hermione. "We were in the same year, you know, and we - er - didn't like each other very much. He especially disliked James. Jealous, I think, of James's talent of the Quidditch pitch ... anyway, Snape had seen me crossing the Whomping Willow to transform. Sirius thought it would be - er - amusing, to tell Snape all he had to do was prod the knot on the tree-trunk with a long stick, and he'd be able to get in after me. Well, of course, Snape tried it - if he'd got as far as this house, he'd have met a fully grown werewolf - but your father, who'd heard what Sirius had done, went after Snape and pulled him back, at great risk to his life ...

"That's very noble, but kinda stupid..." Ruka said. He automatically slapped his mouth.

"Snape glimpsed me, though, at the end of the tunnel. He was forbidden to tell anybody by Dumbledore, but from that time on he knew what I was ..."

"So that's why Snape doesn't like you," said Harry slowly, "because he thought you were in on the joke?"

"That's right," sneered a cold voice from the wall behind Lupin.

Severus Snape was pulling off the Invisibility Cloak, his wand pointing directly at Lupin.

Hermione screamed. Black leapt to his feet. Harry jumped as though he'd received a huge electric shock. Mikan yelped, but couldn't move. Her whole torso had lost all feeling and she felt paralyzed. Natsume's head wasn't supported very well in her limp arms.

"I found this at the base of the Whomping Willow," said Snape, throwing the Cloak aside, careful to keep his wand pointing directly at Lupin's chest. "Very useful, Potter, I thank you ..."

Snape was slightly breathless, but his face was full of suppressed triumph.

"You're wondering, perhaps, how I knew you were here?" he said, his eyes glittering. "I've just been to your office, Lupin. You forgot to take your Potion tonight, so I took a gobletful along. And very lucky I did ... lucky for me, I mean. Lying on your desk was a certain map. One glance told me all I needed to know. I saw you running along this passageway and out of sight."

"Severus -" Lupin began, but Snape overrode him.

"I've told the Headmaster again and again that you've been helping your old friend Black into the castle, Lupin, and here's the proof.

"What proof?" demanded Hotaru in a lazy tone, "You know squat."

"Not even I dreamed you would have the nerve to use this old place as your hideout -"

"Severus, you're making a mistake," said Lupin urgently. "You haven't heard everything - I can explain - Sirius is not here to kill Harry -"

"Two more for Azkaban tonight," said Snape, his eyes now gleaming frantically, "Oh... oops... three. McGonagal's told me about _you_ as well, Miss Z." He pointed his wand at Yuka for a moment before returning it to it's original position.

"I shall be interested to see how Dumbledore takes this ... He was quite convinced you were harmless, you know, Lupin ... a _tame_ werewolf ..."

"You fool," said Lupin softly. "Is a schoolboy grudge worth putting an innocent man back inside Azkaban?"

BANG! Thin, snake-like cords burst from the end of Snape's wand and twisted themselves around Lupin's mouth, wrists and ankles; he overbalanced and fell to the floor, unable to move. With a roar of rage, Black started towards Snape, but Snape pointed his wand straight between Black's eyes.

"Give me a reason," he whispered. "Give me a reason to do it, and I swear I will."

Black stopped dead. It would have been impossible to say which face showed more hatred.

Hermione took an uncertain step towards Snape, and said in a very breathless voice, "Professor Snape - it - it wouldn't hurt to hear what they've got to say, w-would it?"

"Miss Granger, you are already facing suspension from this school," Snape spat.

"You, Potter, Weasley, Nogi and Imai are out of bounds, in the company of a convicted murderer and a werewolf. For once in your life, _hold your tongue._" He hadn't seen Mikan or Natsume.

"But if - if there was a mistake -"

"KEEP QUIET, YOU STUPID GIRL!" Snape shouted, looking suddenly quite deranged. "DON'T TALK ABOUT WHAT YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!" A few sparks shot out of the end of his wand, which was still pointing at Black's face. Hermione fell silent.

"Vengeance is very sweet," Snape breathed at Black. "How I hoped I would be the one to catch you ..."

"The joke's on you again, Severus," snarled Black."As long as this boy brings his rat up to the castle -" he jerked his head at Ron, "- I'll come quietly ..."

"Up to the castle?" said Snape silkily. "I don't think we need to go that far. All I have to do is call the Dementors once we get out of the Willow. They'll be very pleased to see you, Black ... pleased enough to give you a little kiss, I daresay ..."

What little color there was in Black's face left it.

"You - you've got to hear me out," he croaked. "The rat - look at the rat -"

But there was a mad glint in Snape's eye. He seemed beyond reason.

"Come on, all of you," he said. He clicked his fingers, and the ends of the cords that bound Lupin flew to his hands. "I'll drag the werewolf. Perhaps the Dementors will have a kiss for him and the Alice woman, too -"

Harry crossed the room in three strides, and blocked the door. Hotaru had held out a hand to stop him, but didn't reach far enough. Also, it was a reflex move, so she really didn't have it in her to really stop him.

"Get out of the way, Potter, you're in enough trouble already," snarled Snape. "If I hadn't been here to save your skin -"

"Professor Lupin could have killed me about a hundred times this year," said Harry. "I've been alone with him loads of times, having defense lessons against the Dementors. If he was helping Black, why didn't he just finish me off then?"

"Don't ask me to fathom the way a werewolf's mind works," hissed Snape."Get out of the way, Potter."

"YOU'RE PATHETIC!" Harry yelled."JUST BECAUSE THEY MADE A FOOL OF YOU AT SCHOOL YOU WON'T EVEN LISTEN -"

"SILENCE! I WILL NOT BE SPOKEN TO LIKE THAT!" Snape shrieked, looking madder than ever. "Like father, like son, Potter!I have just saved your neck, you should be thanking me on bended knee! You would have been well served if he'd killed you! You'd have died like your father, too arrogant to believe you might be mistaken in Black - now get out of the way, or I will make you. GET OUT OF THE WAY, POTTER!"

Before Snape could take even one step towards him, Harry raised his wand. So did Hermione and Ron.

"_Expelliarmus!_" they yelled. There was a blast that made the door rattle on its hinges; Snape was lifted off his feet and slammed into the wall, then slid down it to the floor, a trickle of blood oozing from under his hair. He had been knocked out. Snape's wand soared in a high arc and landed on the bed next to Crookshanks.

"You shouldn't have done that," said Black, looking at Harry. "You should have left him to me ..."

"It was all he could do..." Yuka said, poking Snape's body.

"We attacked a teacher ... we attacked a teacher ..." Hermione whimpered, staring at the lifeless Snape with frightened eyes. "Oh, we're going to be in so much trouble -"

Lupin was struggling against his bonds. Black bent down quickly and untied him. Lupin straightened up, rubbing his arms where the ropes had cut into them. Mikan wished she could feel pain in her wrists. She couldn't feel anything below her caller bone.

"Thank you, Harry" Lupin said.

"I'm still not saying I believe you," Harry retorted.

"Then it's time we offered you some proof," said Black. "You, boy - give me Peter. Now."

"Siriusu-kun, there are nicer ways to ask for people's pets," Yuka sighed.

Ron clutched Scabbers closer to his chest.

"Come off it," he said weakly. "Are you trying to say you broke out of Azkaban just to get your hands on _Scabbers_? I mean ..." he looked up at the others for support. "OK, say Pettigrew could turn into a rat - there are millions of rats - how's he supposed to know which one he's after if he was locked up in Azkaban?"

"You know, Sirius, that's a fair question," said Lupin, turning to Black and frowning slightly. "How did you find out where he was?" Yuka smiled at Sirius.

"This is how I know he's a genius..." she told Remus.

Black put one of his claw-like hands inside his robes and took out a crumpled piece of paper, which he smoothed flat, and held out to show the others.

It was a photograph of Ron and his family that had appeared in the Daily Prophet the previous summer, and there, on Ron's shoulder, was Scabbers.

"How did you get this?" Lupin asked Black, thunderstruck. Yuka clapped her hands.

"Fudge," said Black. "When he came to inspect Azkaban last year, he gave me his paper. And there was Peter, on the front page ... on this boy's shoulder ... I knew him at once ... how many times had I seen him transform? And the caption said that the boy would be going back to Hogwarts ... to where Harry was ..."

"My God," said Lupin softly, staring from Scabbers to the picture in the paper and back again. "His front paw ..."

"What about it?" said Ron defiantly.

"He's got a toe missing," said Black.

"YES!" Yuka said, happy.

"Of course," Lupin breathed, "so simple ... so brilliant ... He cut it off himself?"

"Just before he transformed," said Black. "When I cornered him, he yelled for the whole street to hear that I'd betrayed Lily and James. Then, before I could curse him, he blew apart the street with the wand behind his back, killed everyone within twenty feet of himself - and sped down the sewer with the other rats ..."

"Did you ever hear, Ron?" said Lupin. "The biggest bit of Peter they found was his finger."

"Look, Scabbers probably had a fight with another rat or something! He's been in my family for ages, right -"

Yuka rolled her eyes, and patted Mikan on the shoulder comfortingly. Mikan couldn't sake her off, as she couldn't move.

"Twelve years, in fact," said Lupin. "Didn't you ever wonder why he was living so long?"

"We - we've been taking good care of him!" said Ron.

"Good care...?" Hotaru asked looking at the ugly, under-fed-looking rat.

"Not looking too good at the moment, though, is he?" said Lupin. "I'd guess he's been losing weight ever since he heard Sirius was on the loose again ..."

"He's been scared of that mad cat!" said Ron, nodding towards Crookshanks who was still purring on the bed.

"But the cat comes to me when I'm around it..." Ruka said, "Scabbers doesn't. I always thought that was strange..."

"This cat isn't mad," said Black hoarsely, nodding to Ruka. He reached out a bony hand and stroked Crookshanks's fluffy head. "He's the most intelligent of his kind I've ever met. He recognized Peter for what he was straight away. And when he met me, he knew I was no dog," he nodded to Ruka again, "Which I'm sure you could tell, Pheromone Boy. It was a while before this little guy trusted me. Finally, I managed to communicate to him what I was after, and he's been helping me ..."

"What do you mean?" breathed Hermione.

"He tried to bring Peter to me, but couldn't ... so he stole the password into Gryffindor Tower for me ... As I understand it, he took them from a boy's bedside table ..."

"Longbottom-san," Hotaru said simply. She was now playing with a tassel on the bed.

"But Peter got wind of what was going on and ran for it ... this cat - Crookshanks, did you call him? - told me Peter had left blood on his sheets ... I suppose he bit himself ... well, faking his own death had worked once ..."

"And why did he fake his death?" Harry snapped furiously. "Because he knew you were about to kill him like you killed my parents!"

"No," said Lupin. "Harry -"

"And now you've come to finish him off!"

"Yes, I have," said Black, with an evil look at Scabbers.

"Then I should've let Snape take you!" Harry shouted.

"BAKA!" Yuka yelled.

"Harry!" said Lupin hurriedly, "don't you see? All this time we've thought Sirius betrayed your parents, and Peter tracked him down - but it was the other way around, don't you see? _Peter_ betrayed your mother and father - Sirius tracked _Peter_ down -"

"THAT'S NOT TRUE!" Harry yelled. "HE WAS THEIR SECRET-KEEPER! HE SAID SO BEFORE YOU TURNED UP, HE SAID HE KILLED THEM!"

He was pointing at Black, who shook his head slowly; the sunken eyes were suddenly over-bright. Yuka shook her head too. "Not true, Siriusu-kun..." she muttered.

"Harry ... I as good as killed them," Sirius croaked, ignoring Yuka, "I persuaded Lily and James to change to Peter at the last minute, persuaded them to use him as Secret-Keeper instead of me ... I'm to blame, I know it ... The night they died, I'd arranged to check on Peter, make sure he was still safe, but when I arrived at his hiding place, he'd gone. Yet there was no sign of a struggle. It didn't feel right. I was scared. I set out to your parents' house straight away. And when I saw their house, destroyed, and their bodies - I realized what Peter must have done. What I'd done."

His voice broke. He turned away. Yuka placed a hand on his shoulder in a motherly faction. The same way she put one on Mikan's shoulder. "Not your fault," she told him sternly.

"Enough of this," said Lupin, and there was a steely note in his voice. "There's one certain way to prove what really happened. _Ron, give me that rat._"

"What are you going to do with him if I give him to you?" Ron asked Lupin tensely.

"Force him to show himself," said Lupin. "If he really is a rat, it won't hurt him."

"Just give him the damn rat!" Hotaru snapped, "You're all giving me a headache!"

Ron hesitated, then at long last held out Scabbers and Lupin took him. Scabbers began to squeak without stopping, twisting and turning, his tiny black eyes bulging in his head.

"Ready, Sirius?" said Lupin.

Black had already retrieved Snape's wand from the bed. He approached Lupin and the struggling rat, and his wet eyes suddenly seemed to be burning in his face.

"Together?" he said quietly.

"What are you two doing?" Yuka asked, uncertain. She grabbed a hold of Mikan, protectively.

"I think so," said Lupin, holding Scabbers tightly in one hand and his wand in the other. He ignored Yuka. "On the count of three. One - two - THREE!"

A flash of blue-white light erupted from both wands; for a moment, Scabbers was frozen in mid-air, his small black form twisting madly – Ron and Mikan and Ruka yelled - the rat fell and hit the floor. There was another blinding flash of light and then - It was like watching a speeded-up film of a growing tree. A head was shooting upwards from the ground; limbs were sprouting; next moment, a man was standing where Scabbers had been, cringing and wriggling his hands. Crookshanks was spitting and snarling on the bed, the hair on his back standing up.

He was a very short man, hardly taller than Harry, Hermione, and Hotaru. His thin, colorless hair was unkempt and there was a large bald patch on top. He had the shrunken appearance of a plump man who had lost a lot of weight in a short time. His skin looked grubby, almost like Scabbers's fur, and something of the rat lingered around his pointed nose, his very small, watery eyes. He looked around at them all, his breathing fast and shallow. Mikan noticed his eyes dart to the door and back again.

"Well, hello, Peter," said Lupin pleasantly, as though rats frequently erupted into old school friends around him. "Long time, no see."

"Ew..." Hotaru muttered, repulsed by this man's ugliness.

"S-Sirius ... R-Remus ..." Even Pettigrew's voice was squeaky. Again, his eyes darted towards the door. "My friends ... my old friends ..."

Black's wand arm rose, but Lupin seized him around the wrist, gave him a warning look, then turned again to Pettigrew, his voice light and casual.

"We've been having a little chat, Peter, about what happened the night Lily and James died. You might have missed the finer points while you were squeaking around down there on the bed -"

"Remus," gasped Pettigrew, and most of them could see beads of sweat breaking out over his pasty face, "you don't believe him, do you ... He tried to kill me, Remus ..."

"So we've heard," said Lupin, more coolly. "I'd like to clear up one or two little matters with you, Peter, if you'd be so -"

"He's come to try and kill me again!" Pettigrew shrieked suddenly, pointing at Black, and Hotaru giggled a bit because she saw that he used his middle finger, because his index was missing. Yuka covered Mikan's eyes. "He killed Lily and James and now he's going to kill me, too ... you've got to help me, Remus ..."

Black's face looked more skull-like than ever as he stared at Pettigrew with his fathomless eyes.

"No one's going to try and kill you until we've sorted a few things out," said Lupin.

"Sorted things out?" squealed Pettigrew, looking wildly about him once more, eyes taking in the boarded windows and, again, the only door. "I knew he'd come after me! I knew he'd be back for me! I've been waiting for this for twelve years!"

Ruka raised an eyebrow. "He's been...?"

"You knew Sirius was going to break out of Azkaban?" said Lupin, his brow furrowed. "When nobody has ever done it before?"

"He's got Dark powers the rest of us can only dream of!" Pettigrew shouted shrilly. "How else did he get out of there? I suppose He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named taught him a few tricks!"

Black started to laugh, a horrible, mirthless laugh that filled the whole room.

"Voldemort, teach me tricks?" he said.

Peter flinched as though Black had brandished a whip at him. Actually, so did Ron and Hermione. The rest of them either weren't afraid of the name or didn't know enough to be afraid of it.

"What, scared to hear your old master's name?" said Black. "I don't blame you, Peter. His lot aren't very happy with you, are they?"

"Don't know - what you mean, Sirius -" muttered Pettigrew, his breathing faster than ever. His whole face shining with sweat now. His eyes darted to Natsume unconscious on the floor as the flame master flinched in his sleep.

"You haven't been hiding from me for twelve years," said Black. "You've been hiding from Voldemort's old supporters. I heard things in Azkaban, Peter ... they all think you're dead, or you'd have to answer to them ... I've heard them screaming all sorts of things in their sleep. Sounds like they think the double-crosser double-crossed them. Voldemort went to the Potters' on your information ... and Voldemort met his downfall there. And not all Voldemort's supporters ended up in Azkaban, did they? There are still plenty out here, biding their time, pretending they've seen the error of their ways ... If they ever got wind that you were still alive, Peter -"

"Don't know ... what you're talking about ..." said Pettigrew again, more shrilly than ever. He wiped his face on his sleeve and looked up at Lupin. "You don't believe this - this madness, Remus -"

"I must admit, Peter, I have difficulty in understanding why an innocent man would want to spend twelve years as a rat," said Lupin evenly.

"Innocent but scared!" squealed Pettigrew. "If Voldemort's supporters were after me, it was because I put one of their best men in Azkaban - the spy, Sirius Black!"

"SHIZUKA, TEME...!" Yuka snarled. (quiet, you(very rude)...)

Black's face contorted. "How dare you," he growled suddenly, like the bear-sized dog he had been. "I, a spy for Voldemort? When did I ever sneak around people who were stronger and more powerful than myself? But you, Peter - I'll never understand why I didn't see you were the spy from the start. You always liked big friends who'd look after you, didn't you? It used to be us ... me and Remus ... and James ..."

Pettigrew wiped his face again; he was almost panting for breath. Ruka, who was the closest child to him, back away. This man was just too erratic acting for him.

"Me, a spy ... must be out of your mind ... never ... don't know how you could say such a -"

"Lily and James only made you Secret-Keeper because I suggested it," Black hissed, so venomously that Pettigrew took a step backwards. Ruka took another step back. "I thought it would be the perfect plan ... a bluff ... Voldemort would be sure to come after me, would never dream they'd use a weak, talent-less thing like you ... It must have been the finest moment of your miserable life, telling Voldemort you could hand him the Potters." Yuka muttered something about "insults won't get you anyewere..." in the corner with Mikan and Natsume.

"Professor Lupin?" said Hermione timidly. "Can - can I say something?" Hotaru raised an eyebrow.

"Certainly, Hermione," said Lupin courteously.

"Well - Scabbers - I mean, this - this man - he's been sleeping in Harry's dormitory for three years. If he's working for You Know Who, how come he never tried to hurt Harry before now?"

"There!" said Pettigrew shrilly, pointing at Hermione with his maimed hand. "Thank you! You see, Remus? I have never hurt a hair of Harry's head! Why should I?"

Natsume stirred in Mikan's arms.

"I'll tell you why," said Black. "Because you never did anything for anyone unless you could see what was in it for you. Voldemort's been in hiding for twelve years, they say he's half dead. You weren't about to commit murder right under Albus Dumbledore's nose, for a wreck of a wizard who'd lost all his power, were you? You'd want to be quite sure he was the biggest bully in the playground before you went back to him, wouldn't you? Why else did you find a wizard family to take you in? Keeping an ear out for news, weren't you, Peter? Just in case your old protector regained strength, and it was safe to rejoin him ..."

Pettigrew opened his mouth and closed it several times. He seemed to have lost the ability to talk.

"Er - Mr Black - Sirius?" said Hermione timidly.

Black jumped at being addressed like this and stared at Hermione as though being spoken to politely was something he'd long forgotten. Mikan thought it was kind of funny, but not nearly as much as she thought her mind was going fuzzy. Damn Hotaru...

"If you don't mind me asking, how - how did you get out of Azkaban, if you didn't use Dark Magic?"

"Thank you!" gasped Pettigrew, nodding frantically at her. "Exactly! Precisely what I -"

But Lupin silenced him with a look. Mikan thanked him in her head. She didn't like how loud he was being, and she couldn't feel her lips.

Black was frowning slightly at Hermione, but not as though he was annoyed with her. He seemed to be pondering his answer.

"I don't know how I did it," he said slowly. "I think the only reason I never lost my mind is that I new I was innocent. That wasn't a happy thought, so the Dementors couldn't suck it out of me ... but it kept me sane and knowing who I am ... helped me keep my powers ... so when it all became ... too much ... I could transform in my cell ... become a dog. Dementors can't see, you know ..." He swallowed. "They feel their way towards people by sensing their emotions ... they could tell that my feelings were less - less human, less complex when I was a dog ... but they thought, of course, that I was losing my mind like everyone else in there, so it didn't trouble them. But I was weak, very weak, and I had no hope of driving them away from me without a wand ... But then I saw Peter in that picture ... I realized he was at Hogwarts with Harry ... perfectly positioned to act, if one hint reached his ears that the Dark Side was gathering strength again ..."

Pettigrew was shaking his head, mouthing noiselessly, but staring all the while at Black as though hypnotized.

" ... ready to strike the moment he could be sure of allies ... to deliver the last Potter to them. If he gave them Harry, who'd dare say he'd betrayed Lord Voldemort? He'd be welcomed back with honours ... So you see, I had to do something. I was the only one who knew Peter was still alive ... It was as if someone had lit a fire in my head, and the Dementors couldn't destroy it ... it wasn't a happy feeling ... it was an obsession ... but it gave me strength, it cleared my mind. So, one night when they opened the door to bring food, I slipped past them as a dog ... it's so much harder for them to sense animal emotions that they were confused ... I was thin, very thin ... thin enough to slip through the bars ... I swam as a dog back to the mainland ... I journeyed north and slipped into the Hogwarts grounds as a dog ... I've been living in the Forest ever since ...except when I came to watch the Quidditch, of course ... You fly as well as your father did, Harry ..."

He looked at Harry, who did not look away. Ruka thought back to what Natsume had said about a dog in the stands. It had been Black...

"Believe me," croaked Black. "Believe me. I never betrayed James and Lily. I would have died before I betrayed them."

Harry nodded.

"No!"

Pettigrew had fallen to his knees as though Harry's nod had been his own death sentence. He shuffled forward on his knees, groveling, his hands clasped in front of him as though praying. Hotaru gagged at him. She hated begging.

"Sirius - it's me ... it's Peter ... your friend ... you wouldn't ..."

Black kicked out and Pettigrew recoiled. Hotaru seemed to giggle to herself.

"There's enough filth on my robes without you touching them," said Black.

"Remus!" Pettigrew squeaked, turning to Lupin instead, writhing imploringly in front of him. "You don't believe this ... Wouldn't Sirius have told you they'd changed the plan?"

"Not if he thought I was the spy, Peter," said Lupin. "I assume that's why you didn't tell me, Sirius?" he said casually over Pettigrew's head.

"Forgive me, Remus," said Black.

"Not at all, Padfoot, old friend," said Lupin, who was now rolling up his sleeves. "And will you, in turn, forgive me for believing you were the spy?"

"Of course," said Black, and the ghost of a grin flitted across his gaunt face. He, too, began rolling up his sleeves.

"Shall we kill him together?"

"Yes, I think so," said Lupin grimly.

"IE!" Yuka shouted, covering Mikan's eyes. It didn't really do anything. Mikan's eyesight was blurry anyway, "IE! IE! Siriusu no baka! Rupinu-san!"

"You wouldn't ... you won't ..." gasped Pettigrew. And he scrambled around to Ron.

"Ron ... haven't I been a good friend ... a good pet? You won't let them kill me, Ron, will you ... you're on my side, aren't you?"

But Ron was staring at Pettigrew with the utmost revulsion.  
"I let you sleep in my _bed!_" he said.

"Kind boy ... kind master ..." Pettigrew crawled towards Ron, "you won't let them do it ... I was your rat ... I was a good pet ..."

"If you made a better rat than human, it's not much to boast about, Peter," said Black harshly. Ron, going still pale with pain, wrenched his broken leg out of Pettigrew's reach. Pettigrew turned on his knees, staggered forwards and seized the hem of Hermione's and Hotaru's robes. "Sweet girls ... clever girls ... you - you won't let them ... help me ..."

Hermione pulled her robes out of Pettigrew's clutching hands and backed away against the wall, looking horrified. Hotaru pulled out a Baka Gun she had finally found in one of the folds of her robs and pointed it at him.

He turned to Ruka grabbed him by the ankle. "Oh, bless you! Bless you... kind boy... sweet boy... you oh so love mice don't you?"

"Get off me!" Ruka yelled, pulling his ankle away.

Pettigrew knelt, trembling uncontrollably, and turned his head slowly towards Harry.  
"Harry ... Harry ... you look just like your father ... just like him ..."

"HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO HARRY?" roared Black. "HOW DARE YOU FACE HIM? HOW DARE YOU TALK ABOUT JAMES IN FRONT OF HIM?"

"Harry," whispered Pettigrew, shuffling towards him, hands outstretched, "Harry, James wouldn't have wanted me killed ... James would have understood, Harry ... he would have shown me mercy ..."

Both Black and Lupin strode forwards, seized Pettigrew's shoulders and threw him backwards onto the floor. He sat there, twitching with terror, staring up at them. "You sold Lily and James to Voldemort," said Black, who was shaking too. "Do you deny it?"

Pettigrew burst into tears. It was horrible to watch: he looked like an oversized, balding baby, cowering on the floor. "Sirius, Sirius, what could I have done? The Dark Lord ... you have no idea ... he has weapons you can't imagine ... I was scared, Sirius, I was never brave like you and Remus and James. I never meant it to happen ... He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named forced me -"

"DON'T LIE!" bellowed Black. "YOU'D BEEN PASSING INFORMATION TO HIM FOR A YEAR BEFORE LILY AND JAMES DIED! YOU WERE HIS SPY!"

"Stop it! you're scaring Mikan!" How Yuka knew thins, Mikan had no idea.

"He - he was taking over everywhere!" gasped Pettigrew. "Wh-what was there to be gained by refusing him?"

"What was there to be gained by fighting the most evil wizard who has ever existed?" said Black, with terrible fury in his face. "Only innocent lives, Peter!"

"You don't understand!" whined Pettigrew. "He would have killed me, Sirius!"

"THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED!" roared Black. "DIED RATHER THAN BETRAY YOUR FRIENDS, AS WE WOULD HAVE DONE FOR YOU!"

Black and Lupin stood shoulder to shoulder, wands raised.

"You should have realized," said Lupin quietly. "If Voldemort didn't kill you, we would. Goodbye, Peter."

Hermione covered her face with her hands and turned to the wall.

"NO!" yelled two voices. Harry ran forwards, placing himself in front of Pettigrew, facing the wands. "You can't kill him," he said breathlessly. "You can't."

At that same moment, a small fire erupted between Harry and the two men.

Black and Lupin both looked staggered.

"Don't kill him!" two voices shouted. But Peter, being an idiot, only realized Harry was helping him.

"Harry!" gasped Pettigrew, and his flung his arms around Harry's knees. "You - thank you - it's more than I deserve - thank you -"

"Get off me," Harry spat, throwing Pettigrew's hands off him in disgust. "I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing it because I don't reckon my dad would've wanted his best friends to become killers - just for you."

"Natsu... me..." Mikan muttered. Everyone's attention moved to her corner.

"NATSUME!" Ruka shouted. Ruka ran over to them. Natsume was awake.

"Did the drugs were off?" Sirius asked, unconcerned.

"I'll tie this son of a bitch up wile you guys take care of your friend."

"Mikan..." Natsume said looking up. Mikan's vition was fuzzy, and she could barly hear him but she understood every word he said. "I love you."

Yuka was taken aback by this. Mikan smiled, but Hotaru's tranquilizer took full affect and she passed out.

"Mikan!" Natsume shouted catching her (kinda) as she fell forward, on top of him.

(please continue to chapter eighteen)

Author Note:

I'm sorry for not putting an author note the end of the last one. Gomenasai! This scene is taking a long time. BTW, this particular scene, some of it comes directly from the book. I'm sorry, I just needed this part to be exact. It had to play out a certain way. From now on, I'm writing without the book. Now that Natsume's awake, I can write normally. Thank you for your patients.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter six: Let me get this strait

Chapter eighteen: Nothing

Yuka twitched, caught between worry and anger. Worry, because her daughter passed out. And Anger, because Natsume Hyuuga, the Kuro Neko, was holding her daughter in a loving worried way.

Natsume Hyuuga could not be just as worried about Yuka's daughter as Yuka is.

Natsume couldn't care less that Yuka looked appalled at his affectionate protection. He didn't give a damn what she thought. Mikan was _his_, if only in his heart.

_I HATE YOU!_

Yes... if only in his heart.

Who fault was it that she said it? In the end, whose? Was it Yuka's? For not keeping Mikan, and not raising her as her daughter, and for when she finally met Mikan she made Mikan hate her?

Or was it Persona's fault? For looking into the matter, and finding out that Mikan Sakura was Yuka's daughter, and for telling Dangerous Ability Types about it?

Or, in the end, was the only one to blame Natsume? He could have told Mikan. He could have told the truth. So she'd know. So she wouldn't be living her life with less than half the nolage she should have. But he didn't. He didn't want to. He didn't want to tell her that. No. Not that. Hearing that Z was her mother would have destroyed her.

But Mikan had a way of finding out what she shouldn't know.

"She fine," Natsume said, noticing everyone was staring at him. He looked to Yuka, and slowly pulled himself and Mikan out of her arms. Yuka looked into Natsume's eyes in a kind of guilty way. Natsume stood up and placed Mikan on the bed.

"Why did she-?"

"She fell on tranquilizer needles," Hotaru said, not saying whose.

Natsume looked to Sirius and Remus. Remus was trying up Peter.

"I'm tying him up for now. We will discus what to do with him," Remus said.

"Can I remove all his power?" Yuka said.

"No," Natsume said flatly, "If I let you get a hold of magic, Yuka-san, bad things would happen. I would be punished, not only my _body_ but my _mind_ too. They would hurt Ruka, Aoi, and your _daughter_ as well, to teach me a lesson. I don't think either of us want that."

Yuka looked at Natsume with just as cold eyes as he looked at her with.

"Now, Harry..." Sirius said, "This man is the reason you're-"

"I know that!" Harry said, "But we'll take him to the castle. After that, the dementors can have him."

"No!" the rat man begged, "No! Harry... please..."

"My dad was an auror. It was his _job_ to make sure scumbags like you get to go to Azkaban." (A/N: I do NOT remember if Harry knew this yet or not, but let's ALL just ASSUME that Lupin told him...)

Peter looked ready to cry. Nobody cared.

"Please..." Peter looked to Natsume, "You! Boy! Beautiful boy... I knew your mother! Yes, you _must_ be her son! Your red eyes!When I was a rat, she was kind enough to give me a little food in the Japanese market place when I was starving. _She_ wouldn't let the dementors have me!"

"My mother is dead." Natsume said coldly, "And I've already done too many things that would make her disappointed in me. One more won't kill me."

Peter could see he was running out of options, so he changed tactics. "Natsume... Natsume Hyuuga? Yes! You are him! The Kuro Neko!"

Natsume skated back and held up his hands in a defense position at the mention of his code name.

"Yes... I've heard all about you... You think I killed Lily and James by telling Voldamort about them? Don't be so hypocritical. Killed almost half your village at age _eight_, aren't I right? You're a pure, full fledged, born killer. You burned down your entire village! You even injured your own _father_. Give me _mercy_, if you are not a complete hypocrite!"

They all stared at Natsume. Natsume smirked. He walked up to Peter. Lupin, Black, Harry, Hermione, and Ron all backed away. They didn't know what was going on anymore. Yuka, Hotaru, and Ruka stayed were they were.

Natsume placed his foot on Peter's chest and knocked his fat on his back. He then placed the edge of his foot lightly against his neck.

"You think we're the _same_? That's laughable. I choose to take on the title of murderer to protect the people I love," he applied more pressure to Peter's throat. "You choose to kill the people you claimed to love to protect your_self_. You don't deserve Potter-san's pity." Natsume released Peter and began walking over to the bed. "But it's Potter-san's choice."

He sat down on the bed and stroked Mikan's hair. "Take _him_ to the castle like Potter-san said. Siriusu-san... if Petigrew-baka is shown to be the real culprit, you can go free. You won't be a wanted criminal. Alice Academy should be-"

"That's it!" Sirius said, suddenly, "You're a student at Alice Academy! One of their soldiers..."

"Pawns." Natsume said defiantly.

"I heard about them in Azaban!" Sirius said, leaning against the wall, "Alice Academy has children soldiers..."

"Pawns."

"... who, in the old days, would fight along us wizards to defeat Voldemort. People in Azkaban... if you could call us 'people' after being in _that_ place... always complained about being put into that prison by a child no older than nine or seventeen! And that those kids never really had _real_ magic. They had only mastered a particular art... an Alice."

He gazed at Natsume. "Are _you_ one of them?"

Natsume sighed, "Not like I had a choice. Those kids didn't _want_ to be there. They were forced. We're almost _always_ forced. We _can_ say 'no', but then _other_ things happen. _Bad_ things... to people we care about..."

"Were _you_ fighting against he-who-must-not-be—named?" Ron asked eagerly.

"Iie, Baka." Natusme looked at Ron, "I am 4 months younger than Harry Potter. I couldn't have."

Ron put on an "I'm stupid" face.

Natsume turned to Yuka.

"You have to go."

"What?" Yuka asked, "NO! I just found my _daughter!_ I can't leave!"

Natsume's face was hidden behind his bangs. "You're a wanted criminal to Alice Academy. You think I can let you walk with me up to the castle and not get four children hurt? One of them being your daughter? I have to take you into custody. I'm giving you the option to run. I'll tell Persona you escaped."

"I can't do that!"

"Yes you can," Natsume looked up at Yuka with cold eyes, "You think you _can_ be a mother to her? You gave _up _that right when you put her up for adoption."

Natsume burned the floor near Yuka's foot.

"Teme... get out of here. You're not wanted."

Yuka stared at Natsume with shocked eyes. Tears weld up behind her eyes and she turned and ran.

"Yuka!" Sirius called. He turned back to Natsume, "All she ever wanted was to be with her daughter!"

"She couldn't care for her," Natsume said, hiding his eyes behind his bangs.

"Don't act like you know everything!"

"Don't act like he doesn't."

Everyone turned to see that Hotaru had spoken. She smiled innocently. "What? If Yuka had stayed, Mikan would have been upset, and even if she wasn't, if she went with Yuka, they'd have always been on the run. Sirius can vouch that that is no way to live. Natsume _had_ to prevent Yuka from making Mikan share her life."

Natsume stood up. "Don't pretend that you know me."

"I'm best friends with your soon-to-be girlfriend, and the girlfriend of your best friend. Don't pretend I don't."

(Please continue to chapter nineteen)

Author Note:

Am I being mean? Making Yuka cry? Oh, well... REVIEW! If you are wondering why I named it 'nothing' it's because this chapter is _nothing_ but me writing about what needs to be put here... next chapter! They're running away from a werewolf! A-YOOOOooO!


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